Wild Child - Expectations (2018)

Austin indie-pop outfit Wild Child have gained quite a bit of traction since their 2011 debut Pillowtalk, and with their newly announced forthcoming effort Expectations, they’re bound to go above and beyond the standard of energetic and emotive music they’ve set over the past six years. For their fourth LP, the band took the unconventional route: Rather than staying put in one place and working with a single producer, they traveled far and wide when developing the tracks of their album, collaborating with myriad well-known producers to create an eclectic medley of songs that boast the far-reaching limits of what the band is able to mold in style and sound. In turn, Expectations is wildly diverse, yet achieves cohesion through the talents of each of Wild Child’s seven members. Their journey took them as far as Tromsø, Norway to work with Chris Walla (formerly of Death Cab For Cutie) and as close to home as Wimberley, Texas, where vocalist Kelsey Wilson grew up, to be in cahoots with Delta Spirit’s Matthew Logan Vasquez. In between, they’ve ventured to Philadelphia to conspire with Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken, and also joined forces with Shakey Graves collaborator Chris Boosahda, indie-pop extraordinaire Max Frost and Grammy Award-winning producer Adrian Quesada. Keeping with the theme of surpassing expectations, the band have shared not one, but two singles from their album as a preview of what’s to come: “Think It Over” and “Expectations,” produced by Walla and Vasquez, respectively. The former is a smooth, upbeat jammer, while the title track takes on a more soulful tone. Listen to the two tracks below. Expectations will be out on Feb. 9 via Dualtone Records. See the cover art and tracklist of the album underneath the lead singles, plus a performance from the band’s 2015 Paste Studio session.

TRACKLIST

01. Alex
02. Eggshells
03. Back & Forth
04. Think It Over
05. Follow Me
06. Expectations
07. Sinking Ship
08. My Town
09. The One
10. Break You Down
11. Leave It Alone
12. Goodbye Goodnight