I have exciting news – I have selected my top 10 albums of 2025. Surely the mountains themselves will reverberate with the triumphant return of the yearly top 10!
But before that, I am afraid there is this nagging commitment to review ALL the albums in my collection so bonus end-of-year list coverage – however exciting – will have to wait a couple of days.
And with that teaser, let’s get on with the review.
Disc 1795 is…Yolk in the Fur
Artist: Wild Pink
Year of Release: 2018
What’s up with the Cover? This is a satellite photo of the burning oil fires in Kuwait following the Gulf War. I remember when this environmental disaster was happening live. As memories go, not a great one to revisit.
Maybe Wild Pink would choose to go for something with a “wild pink” kind of vibe next time. Something frivolous and fun. (Spoiler alert: they do not. The next cover once again features a lot of brown).
How I Came To Know It: In the boring way I have come to know many records – I read a review, was sufficiently intrigued to give it a listen, and liked what I heard. Purchased at my local record store, which is the number one place one (meaning anyone) should purchase an album if the opportunity exists. Support local business! Support brick-and-mortar stores!
How It Stacks Up: I have three Wild Pink albums and I am on the lookout for their 2024 album, “Dulling the Horns”. I don’t have it yet though, and things only stack against what is already in my collection. Of the albums I currently have, “Yolk in the Fur” is #1.
Ratings: 3 stars
Ambient, mood-heavy indie folk music does not usually appeal to me, but every once in a while, someone comes along (Band of Horses, Lord Huron) that wins me over. Wild Pink is one of those bands, making music I can’t bring myself to dislike, despite every honest effort.
“Yolk in the Fur” is Wild Pink’s second album, but it was the first for me to have me engaging in this tug-of-war between what I want to like, and what my ears choose to like. Did it blow me away? Reader, it did not, but it did begrudgingly win me over.
It helps that the band puts the best song first (always a good move when fishing for album devotees). “Burger Hill” is a mood piece that immediately puts you in a peaceful and contemplative headspace.
The song is ostensibly about sitting on a hill looking down on houses below. It’s a winter scene captured amid falling snow, and quite pretty lyrically, but in all honesty, I had to look that up. Unlike a lot of my musical preferences, “Yolk in the Fur” puts soundscapes ahead of lyrics. The lyrics to “Burger Hill” are good, but the vocals are low and farther back in the mix and the song – like most of the record – is a soft and soothing soundscape.
This works well for John Ross’ voice, which is high and airy to the point of ghostlike. He’s still the star of the show, but more like how Steve Harris plays bass in Iron Maiden: critical to the sound, but content to be part of the experience, rather than in front of it.
There are also tracks with a bit of jump in them, like “Lake Eerie” but here it is the percussion driving the show, and while there isn’t anything groundbreaking about a well-playing snare hitting at the front of the pocket, it’s the kind of familiarity that breeds content, rather than contempt.
“Yolk in the Fur” is a subtle record, and it requires an active ear and a quiet room (or headphones) to be enjoyed to its fullest. I’ve had this album in my collection for years (six, to be exact) and this particular listen was in the most unforgiving environment, entirely enjoyed while competing with the growl of my car engine on my morning and evening commute. It nevertheless fared well overall.
That said, there are times when I longed for a little more dynamic range in the record. The melodies are pretty, but the nature of Wild Pink’s approach to the arrangements means they are sometimes buried deeper than they need to be. Like any dreamy experience, this meant that at times I drifted away when I wanted to be present. That’s a bit on me, and a bit on the car, but it’s also a bit on the record.
And so we land at a friendly but not excessive three stars. Enjoyable but not enough to land on 2018’s “top 10” list by any stretch. What will land on 2024’s list? We end where we began, my friends…with a teaser.
Best tracks: Burger Hill, Lake Eerie, There Is a Ledger, The Séance on St. Augustine Street
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