SHOW REVIEW: Wild Pink w/ The Natvral @ Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY
Photo by Samuel Leon
Wild Pink is nothing short of a musical chameleon. Throughout his nine year career, John Ross has traveled through multiple strains of guitar-centric music, from the beautiful synth-tinged expanse of A Billion Little Lights to the folky, hushed instrumentation of ILYSM, all while keeping a pretty low profile in comparison to their peers. If there was ever a throughline in their work outside of the umbrella term “indie rock,” it’s the high quality of their songwriting, helmed by Ross’ knack for captivating lyricism no matter the sonic landscape.
2024 has proven to be another length of the year for the project, kicking off with the Strawberry Eraser EP, a short yet layered project complete with a personal favorite in their discography, “Air Drumming ‘Fix You.’” While the runtime for each song grew shorter as the EP progressed, the project successfully departs from the laid-back nature of ILYSM and gave listeners a taste towards what to expect in the future with Wild Pink’s next full-length, the brash, twangy, and in-your-face full length, Dulling the Horns, the first on Fire Talk Records. Gone are many of the calm and ambient atmospheric elements that defined ILYSM, as they have been replaced with more overdrive pedals and louder drums. Ross’ nonchalant conversational style of writing remains, with hints of wisdom being carefully placed throughout descriptions of otherwise mundane observations. The entire project feels like it was recorded in the very venues Wild Pink has been playing the last few months which makes the possibilities of actually witnessing it that much more exciting.
The project has gone on multiple tours in the United States and in Europe, with a final stretch of three shows at Union Pool in their home of Brooklyn, NY, and I was lucky enough to catch the second of these shows. Wild Pink’s setlist revolved predominantly around songs from Dulling the Horns, kicking off with the title track and closing their main set with career standout “Sprinter Brain.” The set was quite short, lasting just about 45 minutes, so cuts from prior records were kept to a minimum. They only played one song from ILYSM, that being the reflective track “See You Better Now,” but the band made the song fit within the louder nature of Horns tracks thanks to a shift of key and the absence of acoustic guitars. Other callbacks to Ross’ earlier work included “Great Apes” from the self-titled record and the encore of “Yolk in the Fur” and “Lake Erie.”
Opening for Wild Pink on this particular show was The Natvral, the Princeton, New Jersey based project from rock singer-songwriter Kip Berman. There was quite a wonderful range of genres from Berman and his three-person backing band, stemming from an upbeat combination of indie-folk and alternative rock. Standout tracks included opener “Lucifer’s Glory” which also served as the opener for The Natvral’s 2023 full-length, Summer of No Light, as well as the lyrically dismal yet musically upbeat “Carolina.” The set contained a beautiful yet almost melancholic feeling to many of these songs thanks to Berman’s engaging tenor voice, successfully communicating a sense of yearning throughout the throttling of the instruments.
The Natvral is the perfect kind of band you want to see in the back of a bar: a group with loud, rocking guitars and lyrics about the harshness of reality that you can’t really hear but you undoubtedly understand. You can listen to more from The Natvral on Spotify and Apple Music.
Shows like these are inherently communal events, with people from all walks of life coming together to celebrate something they love. However, for an already community oriented act such as Wild Pink, there is an added passion that comes with a hometown show, and it emanated within the attention from the crowd. With three almost sold out shows in a row, it’s safe to assume the band is in a very good place. While their 2024 tour has officially drawn to a close as of writing this, Wild Pink isn’t exactly done showcasing this album just yet. The band is set to embark on an even larger tour at the start of 2025, opening for the ever-so-talented MJ Lenderman. You can find tickets to this absolutely stacked tour at the link here (if your date isn’t sold out yet!)
Photo by Samuel Leon