The debut album from Minneapolis-based trio Modern Wildlife, Cost of Living, compels in its exploration of escapism, anxiety, and the passage of time, all framed within a dynamic blend of alt-rock and post-punk influences.
Opening track “Another Place” exudes a blissful yearning for escapism, set against a sludgy range of guitar distortion. “Take me away to another place, where I can stay high, where I feel free,” the vocals let out, as guitars alternate between erupting frenzy and hazy alt-rock nostalgia. “Particles” follows with similarly relatable themes, lamenting how everything is “falling apart” in both the world surrounding and one’s personal mind-space. “All these particles floating in the air, we never noticed that they’re there,” they contemplate, adding vigor to the encouragement for awakening that ensues. Both thematically and melodically, the one-two opening punch of Cost of Living proves riveting.
“Paper Moons” follows with a more nocturnal mystique, with shades of R.E.M. apparent in the sturdy guitar tones and “bring me back to life” culminating vocal decisiveness. The venturing of warming bass, reflective guitars, and memory-referencing lyrical insight evolves with grippingly seamless cohesion into further distortion in the chorus: “killing time in limbo again, forgetting fight or flight.” The track consumes in its more patiently unfolding pace, in contrast to the excitable rush of “IYKYK,” where energetic vocals admit “it isn’t a game to play,” alongside jumpy bass and a post-punk/alt-rock intertwining.
Borrowed time and stolen breaths are referenced on the foreboding “Cold New Light,” a panic-invoking delight that proclaims “something wants me dead,” into a solo jazzy bass emphasis. Creeping guitars follow with continued momentum; the track is further exemplary of the band’s eclectic tonal navigation, from the eerie compositions here to the more rock-forward focuses of the opening two tracks. “Guardians of Sleep” straddles both worlds; a dreamy guitar-led initial progression and quivering vocal theatrics — “all my teeth are falling out, as I freefall through the sky” — assemble into a raucously enveloping wall of distortion, marking another standout on an album full of many.
Shades of Interpol’s post-punk/alt-rock cohesion show on the catchy “Mergers & Acquisitions,” which beckons for simpler times, while album finale “Up to the Top” succeeds with various vocal layers and lush, hypnotic guitar tones. Themes of hesitance to ready oneself intrigue alongside, aptly concluding an album that fully resonates in its riveting songwriting and relatable themes, speaking to personal anxieties in a tumult-filled world in addition to the daunting passages of time: the “cost of living,” per se. The album is a thorough success from Modern Wildlife.
