Album Review: Wyldlife – Year Of The Snake

NYC punk rock ‘n’ roll band Wyldlife have recently released their fourth full length “Year Of The Snake” that is now available via Stevie Van Zandt‘s Wicked Cool Records, the album was recorded in late 2019 Van Zandt’s Renegade Studios and was produced by the band’s guitarist Samm Allen with Geoff Sanoff, the engineer best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen, Fountains Of Wayne and Dashboard Confessional. “Year Of The Snake” follows up on Wyldlife‘s 2017 Wicked Cool Records debut “Out On Your Block“ and it keeps Wyldlife‘s flame, one that is fuelled by ’70s punk, glam and power pop, burning. 

“Year Of The Snake” somewhat perversely kicks off with ‘Deathbed‘, after a knowing nod to The Misfits ‘Last Caress‘ you get hit with two minutes of high energy garage fuelled power pop, the second cut ‘Neon Nightmare‘ takes the album into a poppier direction before ‘Get Well‘ brings a touch of sleazy rock ‘n roll into play. Wyldlife have released an album that always maintains that essential garage sneer and swagger, but it never settles into a comfortable snotty rut, from the hyperactive ‘Sacre Blue‘ through the driven indie cool of ‘Automatic‘ and ‘Tulsa Superstar‘ to the midwest paisley jangle of ‘Crime Of The Scene‘ and ‘Keeping Up With CT‘ it constantly shifts. In between the constantly changing style you also get pure shots of adrenaline in the form of the pounding title track, the Stonesy swagger of ‘Get Well‘ and the out and out rawk of the album’s finalè ‘The Falcon‘

If you’re of a certain age it will be impossible to see this band’s name without having flashback backs to Wyld Stallyns, the fictional band from the Bill & Ted movies, but unlike that most excellent duo Wyldlife aren’t interested in saving humanity from itself. This is a band that sound like they were raised on the soundtrack to the the countercultures off the sixties and seventies, “Year Of The Snake‘ is a proud anachronism, and rightly so. If you love all the elements that fuel Wyldlife‘s garage power punk ‘n roll then the “Year Of The Snake” really could turn out to be your year.

“Year Of The Snake” can be streamed and purchased here