Whoever came up with the notion to sepia-fy the cover of The Sun As It Comes deserves a drink. The image on the front of The Lonely Wild's first full-length is a photo collage of skulls, rocks and mountainous scenery — a pretty good concept with humdrum execution — but the pictures' varying shades of sepia do the thematic heavy lifting much better. Before you even catch a note from the Los Angeles five-piece, that cover's color scheme suggests that pensiveness and nostalgia will probably be on the menu.
Sure enough, The Sun’s audio makes good on that unspoken oath. This truly promising 3-year-old band produces Tarantino-soundtrack-worthy Alt Country/Indie Folk in the shadows of giants like Ennio Morricone, Calexico and Outlaw Country sorts like Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.
“I knew I wanted a big sound. I was looking to expand my music to a much larger scope than anything I had done before,” band architect Andrew Carroll says in a press release promoting The Sun. Even if you are unfamiliar with any of Carroll’s past work with The Lonely Wild (or previous band You Me and Iowa), The Sun reflects that “big sound” ideal handsomely. Should you ever find yourself trapped in a desert heatwave as memories, what-ifs and regrets rush forward, you now have 12 tunes to accentuate the mood.
THE LONELY WILD performs Monday, May 13 at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine. Check out performance times and get venue details here.
