The Wild Wind - Young and in Love

The Wild Wind
Young and in Love
2016
Spotify

At this point electropop has reached a moment in time where it can either start to go very bad, or start to move and change into something new. It does not feel like we have reached the peak just yet, but with a flood of electropop acts holding on to the tails of trailblazers. That is more or less where we find this record Young and in Love from the The Wild Wind, both on the cutting edge and falling behind. The first thing that pops into your mind is the 80s especially on the first two tracks. Even the vocals have this quality that puts them somewhere in the past, but not necessarily in a bad way. The synths swirl and the band having wind in their name becomes quite relevant. However the sound is quite rich and layered, you aren't getting a hollow sound like M83's last record but something much more substantial.  "The Ocean" is the first real look we get at a single and man does this track work. From the echo of a pounding drum machine to the far off vocals this song let's the anticipation build into a fever pitch until it can finally explode. You can tell however this is the bands first real LP because a song like this should sound much bigger and should really fill the entire room, but it exists on a much smaller scale and ends up being a little thin. Something to round it out like a killer bass line would send the track light years ahead.

The one thing The Wild Wind have down is writing a sentimental love song, but sticking with that one note throughout the record does get a bit grading. Track to Track you can almost expect what is next based on what came before that is until the single "The Feeling". The band finally blows it out on this track and let's loose which the album has been begging for. It's loud and unapologetically pop with a Caribbean vibe that the band blends into an electronic sound to make a track that is nothing but fun. There are certainly the most musical elements on this track and it is what the band needs, to go big. The lyrics on the album can get a bit cheesy as to be expected with love songs, but time and patience will pay dividends for The Wild Wind as they continue to develop.  There is definitely a great deal of sap on this record, but there is also a lot of heart. The bones are all here for something special and with time that will come. However for the time being just sit back and enjoy what could be the start of something really cool.

6.8 out of 10