After months of tearing across the country, Southern Wild’s debut “Lead Role In A Classic Horror” has arrived to the eager, open arms of the rock community. It’s an album that celebrates a spectrum of styles from folk to hard rock and is As is often the case with a debut there’s the sensation that they delight in exploration and experimentation. filled with bold creative choices, twists and turns.
Album opens ‘Intro (The People)’ begins with a funky little bout of rock drumming, followed by spacious guitar lead lines – the guitar sounds clean and melodic but every now and then there’s a fascinating theremin-like slide from one note to another that gives it a wonderfully alien mood. As a second guitar and round bass join in the band’s instrumental line-up is complete. ‘The People’ follows, a fast-paced parable in betrayal that allows Dave van Vuuren to deliver the energetic vocal he’s best known for, closing with an old-school barrage of rock riff work for good measure.
The tenderness of the instrumentation of subsequent ballad ‘Time Eraser’ is miles away from the previous track but just as capably delivered. It remains one of the most soul-baring ballads I’ve heard recently – capably raw and unashamedly vulnerable.
From here on Southern Wild manage to cover even more ground. ‘I’m So Happy I Could Die’ has folk influence written all over it while closer ‘Feels Like the Ocean’ is a harrowing enough to approach metal. Of all the choices made in producing this album it’s the instrumentals like ‘Dirt Horse’ that make the most of a statement. It moves the band away from the image of a pop star fronting a band of three hired guns because it’s clear the rest of the band are personally invested. Dave van Vuuren’s monstrous vocal ability is met with equal ability from band members Dylan Hunt (drums), Alex Smillie (bass) and Julian van Rensburg (guitar), adding welcome musical value to the equation and allowing for gripping instrumentals.
What begins as a notably modern rock track in ‘Emotion Electric Love turns into a spacious instrumental that prioritises a sense of musical development over traditional form. For a genre that’s seen it all, songs like these still showcase new ideas.
The great victory with this album is that it escapes the contrivances of formulaic pop rock bands vying for radio domination and instead delivers an album that is honest in its emotional resonance.
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Listen to “Lead In A Classic Horror” on Deezer.
