Awash in ruminative, synth-laden ambiance and amicable classic rock melodicism, Billion Little Lights is
Wild Pink's most fully realized outing to date. The New York indie rockers' third full-length effort was produced, mixed, and co-engineered by
David Greenbaum (
Beck,
Jenny Lewis) and features a host of session musicians who help expand the scope of frontman John Ross' nostalgia-driven vignettes via the humid ache of pedal steel guitar and strings and
Springsteen-roused heartland saxophone. Comparisons to the open-road FM emissions of
the War on Drugs and
Sam's Town-era
Killers are apt, but Ross and company aren't necessarily aiming for the nosebleed seats. Finding the sweet spot between intimacy and grandiosity is the aim here, and for the most part, Billion Little Lights succeeds, especially when it stretches its pop legs, as it does on the breezy
Magnetic Fields-esque opener "The Wind Like a Train" and the unapologetically
Fleetwood Mac-inspired" You Can Have It Back." The hushed, even-keeled vocals can sometimes disappear into the immaculately rendered sonic vistas, but more often than not the contrasting energies work together, as is the case on the sublime "The Shining But Tropical," which unfolds in broad, but measured strokes like a Bob Ross painting in neon. As lush and inviting as Billion Little Lights can be,
Wild Pink's major-key synth-Americana is built for the familiar flow of the interstate. The melodies go exactly where you want them to, as do the emotional beats, resulting in a lovely travelogue that avoids steering down any seasonal roads, and in doing so quickly fades from memory. ~ James Christopher Monger