I can now name two songs that espouse the virtues of watching X-Files. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s strange it’s happened twice. Wildernesses couldn’t have picked a better opening* lyrical gambit to get the dopamine firing in this weary Xennial brain, as they proceed to deftly weave their narratively-styled approach to songwriting amongst 45 minutes of contemplative guitar work and creeping walls of beautiful noise for their debut LP Growth
*Noted caveat that “opening” is doing a bit lifting, given this arrives after the second track Happy Hollow’s prelude, itself coming hot off the heels of an absolutely searing instrumental opener in Sleepless.
Growth as a whole tells a tale of loss and grief, with an at times granular focus on the mundane reality of those lived moments that make up the spaces which fill those experiences. This delicate mournfulness is offered in a bucolic tableau which evokes The Appleseed Cast (particularly Sagarmatha-era) and I boldly predict fans of such are going to fall in love with this album in a big way (caveat #2; I fervently believed early 90s’ predictions of one day being able to order pizza on your computer that would then be delivered to your house thanks to the information superhighway to be nonsensical moon man talk).
Growth’s standout moments are many; English Darkness a heart-wrenching recount of helplessness against the face of crumbling institutions, set to a grand backdrop of crescendo. Maintenance is the album at possibly it’s most explosive, with some absolutely huge sonic drops accompanying each chorus. Four Hour Drive, the lead single released earlier last year, accelerates things to a unrelenting pace for it’s meditation on mortality, only slowing down once it’s story has been spun for a perhaps-indulgent-but-not-unearned 3 minute breakdown / outro. Album closer and latest single Summertime, 1917 is a stunning exploration of contextualising personal struggle against the found fable of two lovers separated by both war and prejudice; “How can I take a man’s life but I can’t lay by his side?” is going to be a strong contender for my personal lyric of the year (pending any potential re-release of Scatman John’s back catalogue, naturally).
With Growth, Wildernesses have married tragedy and beauty with ease and majesty. Catch them in Brighton on Thursday 4th May with Chalk Hands, in London on Friday 26th June with Civil Service and Million Moons, or early on Friday 21st August at ArcTanGent (where yours truly will assuredly be seeing them for the first time, let’s all be sad and triumphant together).
Review by Gareth Roberts