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If your band name is The Wild, with an exclamation point, you better know how to rock n’ roll. So let’s start this review on the right foot: this band from Kelowna, British Columbia, seriously knows how to rock. The 10 songs on their debut album “Wild at Heart” channel classic rock with a heavy influence from AC/DC, as well as some 80’s rock. The guitar riffs are the best part of the record, but the whole band’s pretty good too.
The songs often sound like Bon Scott singing over material from the bluesier hair bands of the 80’s. The album was track at the Armoury in Vancouver, under the guidance of Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Jimmy Page, Aerosmith, Metallica). The production is top notch, but maybe too clean. I think this band can sound a little wilder (pun intended) in the studio; you kind of get the feeling they’re holding back in an attempt to make the record as perfect as possible, but this kind of music needs a bit more grit and punch.
With names like Dylan Villain (Vocals/Lead Guitar), The Kid (Guitars/Backing Vocals), Boozus (Bass/Vocals) and Reese Lightning (Drums), The Wild! obviously isn’t going for the intellectual crowd, but I think it’s about time bands stopped taking themselves so seriously. This record is a lot of fun, and while the songwriting isn’t original, they’re putting their own fun spin on a tried and true recipe.
He's also a regular contributor at the excellent news site Montreal Rampage
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