Headlights - Wildlife
Illinois indie rock band Headlights continue to please with dreamy-pop tunes on their latest album, Wildlife, via Polyvinyl Records.
Their third record, despite the usual handful of upbeat and catchy melodies, also shows the band's ability to slow down elegantly without sacrificing the natural momentum or lively appeal of their music as a whole.
Many tracks shimmer contagiously with fun synthy spots and smoothly rolling drumbeats, much like their previous album, Some Racing, Some Stopping. They've mastered the art of crafting peppy gems, like Wildlife's opener "Telephones," a track that builds up its punch and becomes a full-fledged head-bobber by the chorus, or midway through the record on "Get Going," where crunching guitar work intermingles with a warm and hazy danceable backdrop. Headlights rock a lot like Mates of State, French Kicks or the Pomegranates, offering not only consistently good music, but an overall fun experience.
But they haven't caved in and marked themselves as "predictable" just yet. Instead, Wildlife shows the band tip-toeing into somewhat unchartered territory. Vocalists Tristan Wraight and Erin Fein exact patience and poignance on sparse, balladesque tracks, such as "Wisconsin Beaches," where Fein in particular takes the spotlight, singing wistfully and tenderly alongside gentle acoustic guitar pickings. Her airy, beautifully somber vocals are seen again on "You and Eye," where she says with sad resignation, "No, it wasn't the same at all, it wasn't the same at all." Wraight at his best and most serene sounds a lot like Ben Gibbard's whispery self in The Postal Service.
The more morose, slow and serious tracks might stem from the fact that the band faced some trouble when first recording the album. At one point Headlights welcomed two new members to the group, but the chemistry just wasn't there and one of them ended up leaving. The band had to scrap all the music they had created up to that point. They admit to having been "so distracted by the issues going on internally," but to be honest, Wildlife thrives on its blend of moods and paces. The record, as a symbol of growth and variety, is definitely another successful venture for Headlights.
Label: Polyvinyl Records
Release Date: 10/6/2009
-MG
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