Soundcarriers
★★★ Wilds PHOSPHONIC. CD/DL/LP
Nottingham folk-popsters’ fourth LP circumnavigates studio convention.
Twin penchants for rollicking Kraut grooves and ’60s lounge pop (think New York-based vocal act The Free Design) governed these four Midlanders’ early releases, but in the seven years since 2014’s
Entropicalia, they’ve discreetly moved on from linear motorik – after all, it’s a particularly busy autobahn these days. Very patiently, the quartet evolved Wilds’ more complex, tempo-variable songcraft at a series of non-studio environments, including a Peak District cottage, a Victorian primary school annexe, an art gallery (where they’d record by night and pack down their kit before morning opening) and a converted warehouse space. Consequently, the nine tracks sound pleasingly out of step with contemporary norms, like an after-the-fact imagining of late-’60s perfection, Leonore Wheatley’s keening vocal melodies inviting obvious comparisons with space-poppers Broadcast, and a lysergic sonic zing recalling Scouse garage revisionists Clinic. Amid much rhythmic galloping and textural density (cue flutes, keys, kitchen sinks), the swishy West Coast psych pop simplicity of Saturate strikes the most satisfying chord.