“Break You Down” is the epitome of this– using pre-recorded clapping effects.
Any of the tracks would prove good background music for a commercial about butter. The album reflects a genre of carefree, folk music that isn’t really being made anymore– think the Lumineers meets the Curious George soundtrack. If those names sound a bit dated, so does Wild Child’s effort on Expectations. These tracks seem more personal and fresh, and I wish there were more examples of this kind of carefree creation throughout.Īt worst, Wild Child covers the same ground once tread by Jack Johnson, Colbie Caillat, Ingrid Michaelson, and others before them. “The One”, a delicate diddy that comes near the end, is refreshing because it sounds candid– almost like they recorded it in one take. For example, on the title track, Wilson has one moment of untethered passion, where she really lets her vocals rip. There are moments when the band lets go of control, and these bits are glorious. Injecting these fun, offhand introductions into the rest of the tracks would have paid off. Perhaps Wild Child’s album would be a bit more interesting if it was a little more, well, wild. However, each song itself is pristine– without a chord, note, or rest out of place. Many of the tracks start in an offhand way, utilizing studio sounds to lead the listener in. It’s clear that Wild Child wants to seem very casual. However, with a group that has been flirting with fame for coming-on-a-decade, listeners may question if a standard album is enough to keep their attention.
All in all, Wild Child succeeds in crafting an extremely standard album about love. The songs are riddled with plays on the idea of expectation - from the sultry, bass-dominated “Think It Over”, to the pensive banger “Eggshells”, to intimate and lyrically beautiful “Follow Me”. People don’t communicate partners are ambivalent couples try to make it work when they shouldn’t. The thesis statement of Expectations simple: Love is hard. Incredibly listenable and innately unimpressive, the record exemplifies how and why good is sometimes just not good enough. Expectations, the third album from Austin group Wild Child since their debut Pillow Talk in 2011, is fantastically, stupendously, superlatively mediocre.