Silvertone (label)
18 August 2017 (released)
18 August 2017
Wildwood Kin are a band whose public profile has been steadily on the rise since their 2015 EP Salt of the Earth. The 4 song collection boasted flawless harmonies, heartfelt lyrics and a truly emotive delivery. The subsequent year they were invited by folk royal Seth Lakeman to join him on his album Ballads of the Broken Few. Once again their appearance saw them reap the rewards of their natural ability. Following an extensive tour with Ward Thomas earlier this year, Wildwood Kin are perfectly placed to achieve mainstream acclaim with their debut effort Turning Tides.
The only issue is that this lacks all the heart and soul of their work to date, which has instead been replaced by slick production and songs structured for radio success. Although some of the material has been showcased in their sensational live sets, the spine tingling magic of their compositions is lost within the walls of Turning Tides.
Essentially a Christian-folk outfit, the band have been carefully and cleverly branded to ensure that their initial leanings are lost in a Haim-esque uber-cool presentation that loses sight of their actual potential in favour of crafting them as a sub-standard alternative to a band that will not be quite so easily toppled from their prime positioning.
Turning Tides is not without strong songs. While this was showcased on the live circuit, it is clear when listening through the album that there is so much potential running through the release that has just not been properly realised. Run is without doubt the most commercially sculpted as a quasi-Fleetwood Max explosion, while Warrior Daughter appears to have been crafted with the sole intention of landing a large sync deal with some supernatural or superhero thriller.
The Valley, which appears in a vamped up form to the one on their debut EP, is easily the album highlight. While not as straight up and beautifully simple as in it's original, there is no denying that it is a real gem of a song.
Wildwood Kin have so much to offer, it is just a shame that their debut album does not do them justice. Their upcoming tour will no doubt be sensational, but listen to and learn their debut EP and simply skip over this over-produced, over-slick album.
