Through the Wild

For their second album, this Americana-leaning group have stepped unabashedly into festival-friendly folk-pop-rock, complete with bold, dramatic choruses and songs that build towards a big finish. Jade Rhiannon Ward's vocals are by turn breathy and raspy, Evan Carson's drums are loud and upfront and the massed acoustic stringed instruments of Cliff Ward, Ben Savage, Katriona Gilmore and John Parker create an unarguably full sound. There are many moments on this album that remind me unexpectedly of 1980s pop-rock, only with banjos, guitars, dobros and fiddles. There is something about the atmospheric reverb-soaked string notes and precise male-female vocal harmonising of ‘Better Days’ that strongly recalls Fleetwood Mac circa Tango in the Night. And the vocal refrain of ‘Perfect Crime/Ernest Durham’ even brings to mind the Swedish pop-rockers Roxette, despite the muscular old-time fiddle and bluegrassy mandolin. This is ultimately pretty middle-of-the-road fare, although the glam-rock stomp beat and bluesy dobro licks of ‘Pearl Hart’ are but one example among many on this album of why The Willows would clearly go down well on the main stage of a big folk festival.