Singer/songwriter Julian Wild, Albuquerque native and troubadour-errant, has released a new communiqué that chronicles in a musical mosaic a broadening and deepening self-awareness.

Julian Wild
The Brightroom Sessions, Vol.1 (indie)
A review
On his previous release, Wild Humans (reviewed here) singer/songwriter Julian Wild leveraged his core Wild Humans quartet and three guest artists, deftly arranging their contributions to create a lush and moody environment for his intensely personal and well-constructed songs. But it was his expressive, resonant baritone that delivered the goods, and on The Brightroom Sessions, Vol. 1,which Wild aptly describes as a coming-of-age album, his vocal instrument again carries the weight, assisted this time by only his acoustic guitar and a few restrained sonic effects.

A vulnerable, undefended quality to Wild’s voice invites you to quietly share his private thoughts and feelings, and his melodies seem to echo traditional tunes, offering a comfortable familiarity. In nine tracks—one hidden, and all but one originals—he addresses regret, love, the artist’s struggle, memory, disappointment, and the burden of self-awareness, with an almost objective self-assessment devoid of self-indulgence. (The one exception, delivered a cappella, is “Moments of Peace,” written by Wild’s father, which offers some fatherly advice and on which Wild’s performance tilts a bit too far in the direction of earnest expression.)

The affecting “For You” quivers with a wild and tender love:

I went walking by the river
In a whirling, wandering wind
There you stood like a storm-swept angel, ah

You were talking about the past, and
How you turned your back on him
Now you only see the future, ah

Leavin town on a midnight horse
Taking the reins gonna make a new course
This life is finding out just what we’re put here for, ah

And honey for you, I am for you
I am for you, I am for you
In a wild and oh, familiar way

So does “Everything Fades in the Fray,” which ponders why two lovers chose to part ways. Memory lights up “Harzman Road” with Proustian clarity and ignites the listener’s own recollections. “North,” written for and first released several years ago by The Breaktone, a band that Wild fronted, passes on a bracing bit of wisdom:

Sweet little ghost
The innocence is what we miss the most
Everybody grows
There’ll be war in the morning, you’re gonna start it.
All of your secrets spilled on the carpet
Oh, you’re never gonna win

We were born to burn up.

The Brightroom Sessions, Vol.1, offers thoughtful reflections galvanized by iconic images, a comfortable honesty, and engaging musicality. You can hear it at julianwild.hearnow.com, where you can also access streaming and download services.

© 2020 Mel Minter