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CD Review
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Slipcue.com, CD Review >>
WOW. This Kansas City quartet is, quite frankly, one of the most diverse, most convincing and most gratifying bands in alt-country today. I was impressed by earlier albums, but I'm totally floored by this one. It's a concept album, but it feels like a potpourri: the album opens with a clompy cowpunk tune, ala the Waco Brothers, et. al., which didn't do much for me, but then they effortlessly switch directions and lay down a sizzling, fling-ding square-dancing reel (one of several that bookend this excellent album) and stomp merrily along into an impressive mix of alt-twang, bluegrass, good old fashioned honky-tonk and some brooding, Richard Buckner-style Goth-a-billy ("Sitting On A Jury"). Highlights include "Hey Little Darlin' ", one of the finest singalong melodies I've heard in many a moon, the kind of song you'll want to play over and over until it really settles into your brain. The Wilders are an exemplary roots music band: every style they tackle, they play perfectly, hitting exactly the right emotional tone while exuding a completely authentic vibe. Obviously these folks are well-steeped in country and hillbilly lore, and while a lot of rockers-gone-twang strike poses that ring false, the Wilders absolutely do not. The only style they play here that gets short shrift is a series of piano-led instrumentals that evoke a mix of Old West saloons and Sam, the pianist from Casablanca -- these interludes are brief but tantalizing, and suggest another level of musical depth that the band might want to explore sometime. Meanwhile, twangfans will want to check this disc out -- it's one of the best country records I've heard in a long time. 04/15/08 >> go there
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