Modern Wildlife – Cost of Living
Minneapolis-based act Modern Wildlife formed in the summer of 2023 – they craft simple but intriguing songs that range from dark and moody to energizing and fast-paced. Their debut album is called Cost of Living, a 10-song offering that looks at the various anxieties and woes that plague our collective existences. As a trio, the group outputs a surprising amount of sound, opting to utilize unique chord structures and ear-catching bass in their own personal versions of punk rock, post-punk, and the spaces in between.
Opening song “Another Place” rings strongly of Big Muff-soaked guitars a la Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins. The three-piece keep things simple and digestible, with a pleasant ride-cymbal-driven beat, fun bass licks, and the aforementioned fuzz sputtering pleasantly in your ears. While the entire album doesn’t smack of early 90s grunge glory, “Another Place” certainly does… Billy Corgan would be proud of this one. Even the longing lyrical presence here has that classic SP melancholy (pun intended). See below:
“Take me away to another place, where I can stay high, where I feel free”
They follow up “Another Place” with the indie punk gut punch of “Particles.” With a blistering tempo and more stereotypically driven guitars (maybe a Tube Screamer this time instead of that heady fuzz), “Particles” also points at the onslaught of ennui that we stomach on the day-to-day and how it seems to coincide with regular life still happening at its normal pace:
“Everything is falling apart/everything is fine.”
The truth is that most of Cost of Living falls somewhere beyond the hazed-out grunge and fast-paced punk of the first two songs. “Mergers & Acquisitions” sounds closer to post-punk than anything, its driving bass and lead-heavy guitar work combining in a quiet/loud formula that sounds like the members of Interpol joined the Pixies. “Cold New Light” channels Emergency & I era Dismemberment Plan with its jittery riffing, wild bass licks, and violent lyrics. The gentle, chorus-laden (EHX Small Clone maybe?) guitar presence in “Keep It To Yourself” feels refreshingly centrist on this album, acting as the mediator between Modern Wildlife’s more extreme outliers. Even album closer, the blissed-out, Turnover-esque journey of “Up To The Top,” gets in on the fun with its five plus minute meander through jazzy chords and bass acrobatics.
Our nod for album favorite goes to the slow jam “Ins & Outs.” The plodding guitar here feels like it was performed on someone’s literal heartstrings and the Midwest emo sentiment on the vocals hits just right. Runner up goes to “Cellophane Flowers,” an instrumental jam layered lush with intriguing guitar effects that tickle your eardrums with harmonies and sparking effects (I think this one is a Rainbow Machine).
Cost of LIving is out now – you can find it on Spotify, Apple Music, and most importantly, Bandcamp.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna