The Wild Kindness: “No One Belongs Here More Than You”

Random acts of kindness: we can’t recommend ’em enough. Because it’s those little gestures you catch in the wild that help us make new connections (no matter how brief or passing), break past malaise and monotony, and recognize the world as a more compassionate place. And new connections are also a key component to what makes The Wild Kindness one of a kind.

We wouldn’t call The Wild Kindness’ frontman Mike Alexis a wunderkind, but we do give him kudos for evolving his former Bay Area solo act into the five-piece it is today by recruiting some of Austin’s finest, post-relocation. Now, a dozen years down the line from TWK’s debut Coming Down to the Ghost, this quintet’s cemented itself among the city’s chief chamber rock projects. No, it’s not like their compositions are contrapuntal, convoluted, or anything; it’s just the welcome inclusion of orchestral elements like strings, brass, and woodwings that really makes these jangly arrangements stand out in the artist-flooded field of indie rock.

Well, comin’ up in a couple days, The Wild Kindness has one heck of a weekend in store. They’re sharing The Blind Trust this Friday, followed by a free EP cassette release show 8PM this Saturday at Drinks Backyard alongside The Heavenly States and Great Howl. But you don’t have to put your faith in The Blind Trust strictly on our word. Because the album’s lead single that dropped last October, “No One Belongs Here More Than You”, is the coziest piece of melancholy to come out in a while. The two alternating chords and candid lyrics of its verses alone are enough to get us emotional immediately, but its the well rounded instrumentation (slow cello swells, rainy ride cymbals, rippin’ lead guitar, et al.) and uplifting dynamic range make “No One…” a true triumph of human acceptance.

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