''Wildewoman'' is the second studio album by
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
band
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...
. It was released on
PIAS Recordings
PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...
,
Mom + Pop Music and
Dine Alone Records
Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American independent record label, founded in St. Catharines and Toronto by Joel Carriere. The label is now based in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles.
History
Dine Alone was born out of founder Joel Ca ...
to mostly positive reviews, drawing numerous comparisons to the girl groups of the 1960s. Reviewers also praised the album's eclectic mix of musical styles, as well as the vocal performances of lead singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. The album peaked at number 150 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart.
Packaging and title
The album's cover artwork is a 1964 painting by Belgian pop artist
Evelyne Axell
Evelyne Axell (16 August 1935 – 10 September 1972) was a Belgian Pop painter. She is best known for her psychedelic, erotic paintings of female nudes and self-portraits on plexiglas that blend the hedonistic and Pop impulses of the 1960s. ...
, titled ''Ice Cream''. In selecting the image, Wolfe and Laessig drew inspiration from other iconic, provocative album covers including ''
Sticky Fingers
''Sticky Fingers'' is the 9th British and 11th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca ...
'' and ''
Nevermind
''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, ''Neve ...
''. Laessig said "At the time,
xellwas making a statement that was incredibly bold, and we think our show is bold, we’re strong women. There's nothing shy about the way that we sound and the way we put ourselves out there. It's a strong image. And if you’re looking at fifteen record covers on iTunes, what's going to stick out to you?"
The album title was taken from the song of the same name and was intended to evoke "free-spirited women". It is pronounced analogously to "
wildebeest
Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...
".
[
]
Reception
Critical
''Wildewoman'' received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the vocal performances and girl group-inspired sound. In a review for '' Paste'', Hilary Saunders wrote that the album was successful in "reintroducing retro girl-group swag to the 21st century at a time when it's most needed" and went on to call it "one of the most complete indie pop LPs this year".[ James Christopher Monger of ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised the album's fusion of styles and the "commanding performances" of Wolfe and Laessig,[ while Will Hermes' review for '']Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' described the album's sound as "fresh" and "thrilling".[ Writing for ]Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
, Tony Hardy gave the album a more reserved assessment but noted that the band "spins some intriguing sounds".[
''Wildewoman'' also appeared on a number of year-end best album lists, including those compiled by ]Bob Boilen
Bob B Boilen (b. April 10, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American musician and media personality. He is the host and creator of NPR's online music show ''All Songs Considered'' and NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts series.
In 1979 Bob Boilen pl ...
of NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''All Songs Considered
''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on '' ...
'' and the music staff at Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
.
Commercial
The album debuted at No. 150 on the Billboard 200 album chart, with 3,000 copies sold in its first week. The album has sold 46,000 copies in the US as of March 2016.
Track listing
All songs written by Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe unless otherwise noted.
#"Wildewoman" – 4:11
#"Turn It Around" – 3:28
#"Go Home" – 3:19
#"Hey, Doreen" – 4:41
#"Tempest" – 4:09 (Laessig/Molad/Wolfe)
#"Nothing Ordinary" – 3:01
#"Two of Us on the Run" – 4:35
#"Until We Get There" – 3:28 (Laessig/Molad/Wolfe)
#"Don't Just Sit There" – 3:51
#"Monsters" – 3:29
#"How Loud Your Heart Gets" – 5:38
Personnel
;Lucius
*Jess Wolfe – Lead vocals
*Holly Laessig – Lead vocals
*Dan Molad – Drums
*Peter Lalish – Guitar
*Andrew Burri – Guitar
;Additional musicians
*Alan Hampton – Bass
*Adam Christgau – Percussion
*Gabriel Duncan – Guitar, Vocals
*Jessica Martins – Backing vocals
*Blake Mills
Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California.
Biography
Blake Mills was born in Santa Monica, California, United States, and grew up in Malibu, where he attended Malibu ...
– Guitar
*Leital Molad – Backing vocals
*Shelley Molad – Backing vocals
* Chris Morrissey – Bass
*Michaela Neller – Backing vocals
*Sydney Price – Backing vocals
*Rich Hinman – Guitar
*Heather Robb – Backing vocals
*Eric Robertson – Tenor guitar
The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players of ...
;Production
*Lucius – production, engineering
*Tony Berg
Anthony Rains "Tony" Berg (born October 21, 1954) is an American musician, record producer, and A&R representative, in which role he has been described as an "industry guru".
Berg's music career began in the late 1970s as a session guitarist who ...
– additional production
*Steve Wall – additional production, engineering
*Shawn Everett
Shawn Everett (born July 6, 1982) is a Canadian music engineer and producer best known for his work with Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs, The Killers, and Julian Casablancas. Everett has won six Grammy Awards.
Early life
Ever ...
– engineering, mixing
*Jacob Goldman – engineering
*David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive.
Professional career
Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and new ...
– mixing
*Bob Ludwig
Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
– mastering
Chart performance
References
{{Authority control
2013 albums
Lucius (band) albums