I think there’s something particularly special about music that’s really evocative of a time or place. It’s why I never grow tired of Guillemots‘ “Through The Windowpane” – every time I listen I actually feel like I’m on a train to Brazil, and end up heartbroken in São Paulo. Pretty epic. The Lonely Wild have just the same touch, only in their case it’s the Old West they conjure up.
Formed by Andrew Carroll and Ryan Ross from the ashes of their previous band, You Me & Iowa, The Lonely Wild are a five-piece who make country music you actually want to listen to. Actually, that’s not quite right, because this isn’t country music in the usual sense – it’s Ennio Morricone, not John Denver. Their new EP “Dead End” could be the soundtrack to a Spaghetti Western, and let me tell you, if the soundtrack is anything to go by, it would be a pretty damn good one.
It’s the same sense of epic that made The Last Shadow Puppets‘ “The Age Of The Understatement” such a joy, but done with less self-conscious indie brash and a lot more poise and authenticity. The band themselves cite the likes of Wilco and Woodie Guthrie as influences, both of which are well justified. I would add that if Win Butler had looked to the prairies instead of suburbia for inspiration, then “The Suburbs” might have sounded like this. Although I suppose it would also have been called “The Prairies”, which is a pretty awful name for an album.
In fact, if Régine and Win (yes, I have an inexhaustible supply of comparisons to Arcade Fire at my fingertips) ever bothered to sing at the same time, they might end up with some of these tasty vocal harmonies – I’m a sucker for boy-girl dynamics and they are put to great use on “Dead End”. I guess what I’m saying is that The Lonely Wild are the Arcade Fire of alt.country. With a touch of Bright Eyes thrown in for good measure.
You can download book-ends “The Right Side Of The Road” and “Dead End” below, but take it from me that stand-out track “Poor Fools” alone is worth the price of the EP over on Bandcamp. So grab a download, look out your “Rawhide” box sets (What? You don’t have a “Rawhide” box set?), and head out west.
Connect with The Lonely Wild: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp | Soundcloud
The Lonely Wild – “Right Side Of The Road”
The Lonely Wild – “Dead End”
