Youth

Listening to Wild Cub is like hearing Phil Collins and TV on the Radio fooling around in the studio late at night, after Danger Mouse sprinkles a little pixie dust in the room before vanishing. The Nashville band has a familiar feel, like they’ve been making your favorite music since you were a kid; that's not easy to do when the music also sounds utterly fresh and new. Singer Keegan DeWitt’s voice is soft and scruffy, wrapped in just enough echo to lend some distance for mystery’s sake. The syncopated guitar notes, muffled tom booms, and reedy, ‘80s basslines create a cocoon of comfort. “Thunder Clatter” is the single (which found its way to a Bose commercial), and its beautiful Remain in Light—style twinkle is inarguably irresistible. But also give the warm and spooky “Drive” or the soulful “Wild Light” a try (the latter again teasing at Talking Heads, with a playful keyboard riff echoing “This Must Be the Place”). Drummer (and producer) Dabney Morris is a stellar musician, knowing exactly when to pounce and when to lay back and weave an intricate but subdued foundation. Intoxicating.