Wild Ponies - Radiant (2016)

New Wild Ponies record explores moments and memories, of cycles and seasons, that make up a life worth living. How does one describe those precious moments in life when we transcend our small daily self-interests and somehow hold onto those rarified breaths of the deeper human experience? Radiant, the new Wild Ponies album, explores those moments with alternating delicacy and raucous abandon. At times, it's as though Telisha is sitting right beside you, fingers on your shoulder, whispering in your ear. Seconds later it's hard to believe this full, confidently reckless sound is coming from only four players (Telisha Williams, Doug Williams, Megan Jane and Fats Kaplin). When you lay every fear and foible, every hurt and healing out for the whole world to see as Wild Ponies did on 2013's Things That Used to Shine, the album's follow-up surely can't be faulted for cutting a little bit loose. That's certainly the case with Radiant. The set bucks and rumbles through 11 songs that pull from all manner of sources, poetic tweens, Catawba trees, homophobic politicians, dying small towns, and tarot cards. The tie that binds them all together is the thread of moments and memories, of cycles and seasons, that make up a life worth living.