Wildewoman

Lucius’ second album, 11 years forward

this month’s collectible of choice is Wildewoman by Lucius, which celebrated its 11th anniversary this week on 10/15. the band’s second album originally received stellar reviews for harkening back to 1960s girl groups and integrating various genres into their sound in a refreshing, modern way. it’s pop, it’s folk, it’s twee — twanging and sanging reign supreme here.

i have this record on vinyl, something that i sought out and picked up after being really fond of the music when it was originally released. now, i should preface that this wasn’t the album i initially intended to write about this month. but upon reflection, i struggled to find enough words about the first album to warrant a write-up.¹

during my contemplation of subject matter, i learned that i was a whole month off on the anniversary of Wildewoman. the day i searched Google to confirm the album’s anniversary was actually the anniversary date. i also thought it came out in 2014 and not 2013.² oops, i hadn’t planned to write about this until November. well, time to pivot.

on Wildewoman, the symbiosis between the two singers, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, is unmatched. throughout the band’s tenure, this kinship has transcended their music, as they dress in matching clothes and style their hair the same for public appearances.

earlier this year, Lucius offered entirely new recordings of their second album to commemorate the 10th anniversary. i listened to both versions of the album ahead of today’s post. there are so many nuanced and intriguing sounds across Wildewoman, aspects of which you might attribute to the singers being alumni of Berklee College of Music.

interestingly enough, i just saw a TikTok video this week from an artist named Aria Lanelle that explained something she’s dubbed “The Berklee Sound” and why it’s dated. as a graduate of the prestigious music school, she attributed this to the current professors being stuck in the commercial sound of the 2010s. it left me wondering how Lucius is implicated in that effect, considering that Wolfe and Laessig graduated in 2007 and their band came to prominence in the 2010s.

on this full moon in Aries, i present a recap of an album inspired by free-spirited women. the cover’s pop art image by Belgian artist Evelyne Axell features a woman with vibrant red hair licking a pink-and-green ice cream cone as it drips. the artwork is so colorful and striking, very fitting for the essence of this album. similarly, the stark white vinyl and the title written in reflective foil highlight just how influential the 1960s and the Mod era were to this album’s aesthetic.

here’s my play-by-play of each track, with some of my favorite lyrics and a few notes about how the new recording compares to the original one.

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“Wildewoman”

the song is a captivating opener, complete with howling, clicking, and playful lyrics that are reminiscent of a nursery rhyme. the way they sing in rounds soothes my brain.

this is definitely emblematic of the “stomp, clap, hey” era, where songs would randomly get loud for no reason other than the band to yell over clashing drums and cymbals.

“Turn It Around”

on this track, there’s even more clapping as instrumentation, veering into the twee category heavier than the first song did. this is one of my favorite songs of theirs, especially once the bridge comes in. it still gives me goosebumps!

She’s looking through the wrong end of the telescope, turn it around!

“Go Home”

it’s all about the anticipation on “Go Home”— the way they sing so sweetly and softly on the intro, just to belt and sing in ways your broken heart could only dream of by the time the chorus comes in. the melancholy guitar beautifully accents and accompanies their voices.

i’m not really sure that Marcus Mumford needed a solo on the re-recorded version, but he is a contemporary of theirs from the “stomp, clap, hey” era so i’ll give it a pass.

I'm your dolly,
Stuffed with extra baggage
Lay me down to shut my eyes
Beaded gazes
Lead you nowhere anyways
Press on my heart, I will say
Press on my heart I will say

“Hey, Doreen”

this one is slightly more poppy and less folksy. it’s got a triumphant and anthemic spirit, which remains on the new recording.

“Tempest”

i’m still so in love with this song. i’m pretty sure i heard this via NPR when i was deep in my All Songs Considered phase. for the 2024 version, they added a solo by Devon Gilfillian, and i think the additional male vocals make sense here as they were already present in the background of this song’s refrain.

“Nothing Ordinary”

this song is pretty quirky and, at times, slightly disjointed. as the title implies, it’s nothing ordinary.

“Two of Us On the Run”

the harmonies in this song really deserve your full attention. if you’re a singer, it’s also very tempting and likely that you will comfortably nestle into singing along with them because it’s fairly easy to do so.

Our favorite parts are what we'll keep
Ornamental parts of love and parts of memories
So everything else has room to grow
'Cause in better light, everything changes

So we can one day tell our story
Of how we made something of ourselves now

“Until We Get There”

ok, this song is more deserving of my attention. i definitely heard it in a renewed way during my listen for this review.

“Don’t Just Sit There”

this is another track that i never listen to enough, but it’s beautiful and aligned with the rest of the big feelings across this album’s run. the song switches up around the 2:15 minute mark and it’s delightful.

“Monsters”

this is yet another quirky tune from the band’s discography. while there’s a jauntiness to the instrumentation, the song simultaneously evokes the kind of eeriness that its title would imply.

“How Loud Your Heart Gets”

wow, what a spacious, reflective closer that resolves many of the themes introduced throughout the album!

Nobody knows how loud your heart gets
'Cause we’re a million miles away, but I still hear you.

overall, Wildewoman is an imaginative indie pop record that i don’t revisit often enough. the new recording included two additional tracks, “Genevieve” and “Housewarming,” with the former having originally appeared on the 2013 EP that preceded the album. there were also many moments on the new recording that sounded virtually the same as the original, minus some variances in pitch and tone. with a few recent listens under my belt, i think i still prefer the original recording.

since this record, Lucius’ sound has gone more into the rock and power pop territories. i haven’t followed their journey as closely as i once did, but they definitely still make good music. in addition to the Wildewoman record, i also have a CD for their third album Good Grief in my collection. i saw the band live during their 2016 tour and i still have the box of matches i got from that show.³ this revisit might have inspired me to reignite the flame i once held for their music.

1. the album was Otherness by Kindness. musician Adam Bainbridge also took to their IG story to briefly commemorate the album’s 10th anniversary, but ultimately declined to make a full post as “in the grand scheme of things, it’s truly unimportant.” their bio reads, “what’s the point of a career in a genocide?” food for thought, for sure!

2. i must have been looking at the details for the expanded version and not the original.

3. because one thing about this fire sun sign is that i will buy lighters and matches if you offer them as merch.