Last week, Andy Shauf released Wilds, his seventh full-length album and follow-up to last year’s The Neon Skyline. Written and recorded between March and May 2018, these songs aren’t exactly new, but still fit comfortably into the narrative that the Saskatchewan raised, Toronto-based singer-songwriter has cultivated over the years (another writer referred to this as the “Andy Shauf Cinematic Universe”). And they are narratives rather than songs – the lyrics, in paragraph form underneath the tracks on bandcamp, appear as mini-novellas disguised as verse, all more or less centered on Judy, the protagonist’s elusive, multi-faceted ex-girlfriend.
Our favorite track, “Call,” sounds the most like reckless abandon, given the way Shauf’s protagonist admits to no one in particular that “I want to hear your voice call down the empty street telling me to wait up,” “telling me you miss me,” “telling me anything.” The guitar and percussion, simple and slightly somber, both drift aimlessly, evoking a breeze working overtime to combat the sweltering heat. The desire eventually overwhelms and partially inebriates him to the point where he admits half-sarcastically in the last verse that “now I’m swerving on the sidewalk/ but I know you’ll be okay.” “Do you want to hear anything I say?” he asks, knowing he won’t get an answer.
Wilds is out now via ANTI- Records.
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photo courtesy of artist
kid with a vinyl 