You don't so much listen to a Wilderness album as become completely absorbed by it. The band's densely textured and deceptively simple format of guitar, bass, and drums takes on a throbbing, hypnotic quality that's hard to classify with terms like "postpunk," though it veers in that direction.
The Baltimore-based group's fascinating new album arrives two years after a minor misstep with an unimaginative sophomore release that didn't live up to the potential of the group's debut album. (k)no(w)here redeems that, unfolding more as a 40-minute patchwork of tonal concepts than as a proper album. Individual songs are present, but they fade into one other as if the record were written in a single sweeping stroke. James Johnson's gloomily commanding howl booms out over the proceedings, a little bit John Lydon and a little bit David Byrne, but wholly his own. Colin McCann, never content to bash out chords on his reverb-infused guitar, spirals intricate licks over one of indie rock's most reliable rhythm sections. From the opening ambience of "High Nero" to the eight-minute rock-trance of "Chinese Whisperers," Wilderness has again proven itself to be one of the most engrossing bands to emerge from our verdant musical landscape.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
