A California outfit spearheaded by the multi-instrumentalist and iconoclastic Kyle Field, Little Wings relied on improvisation across these eight tracks from a San Diego garage, creating an unclassifiable, spontaneous listen.
“Butter On The Wind” gets the listen off to a calm start, where the casual talk/singing is met with hypnotic bass and light drumming for the cozy introduction, and “Day’s End” follows with Mike Watt making an appearance for a breezy, rhythmic moment that seems like reggae meets slacker-rock.
The middle tracks are equally fun. “Do It” recruits some ambience that uses interesting, somewhat nonsensical wordplay, while “Girl In High Heels Having Fun” actually invites a sing-along amid the dreaminess and repetitive intimacy.
The last four songs are equally unusual. “Look At That Guy” is a vocally busy moment and musically also much fuller, where buzzing guitars and pretty hilarious storytelling are present, but the bare climate of “Song Of The Rocks” really tugs on the heartstrings via its charming duet and gentle instrumentation.
Closing out the album, “The Island” and “The Men” follow a similar pattern of unpredictability. The former borders on slow-core thanks to its rich and emotive qualities, and the latter is a frisky moment of vocal acrobatics and textured, off-kilter rock.
Field is here joined by Lee Baggett (guitar, vocals), Brian Malloy (keys, bass, guitar, moogle), Dave Matthies (drums, bass, guitar), Jacob Navarro (guitars, mandolin, circus horn, slide guitar) and David Nordstrom (spoken word). Together, they make for a not-so-serious version of outsider rock, where it’s best not to even try to dissect what’s going on and better to enjoy the ride for what it’s worth.
Somewhere between freak folk, cosmic country, psych-rock and indie-rock, Little Wings offers plenty of dark moments along with comical bouts to be enjoyed, too.