The following several tracks follow suit, injecting an even greater influence of ’80s synthpop, the most zany among them sounding like Danny Elfman composing chiptune, lead singer ultramark’s voice hitting the high notes as capably as Justin Hawkins of the Darkness and sounding not unlike Brian Wilson in the lower register.
Having brought out this song on two consecutive releases, it is especially amazing that they can still make a line as mundane as “we belong to places” sound revelatory. “Must Land Running” leads into “Jungles”, one of two recycled tracks from Ordinaire EP, which fits in well here. There is a bigger sound, to be sure, but one that plays just as naturally and comfortably as the relatively subdued production on Ordinaire EP.Īlso notably, Wildlife Pop may very well have the best opening track of the year, “Must Land Running”, a cacophonous blast of synths and banging piano which feels as big and utterly joyful as the greatest of Polyphonic Spree tracks. The heart and soul of Ordinaire EP, what made it a blissful combination of 8-bit bleeps and bloops and engaging, heartfelt lyricism, is alive and well in Wildlife Pop. Stepdad is now a major label band, technically speaking, and their new album, Wildlife Pop, is a major label album, though you wouldn’t know it by comparing efforts. It should be noted that in the lull between Stepdad’s mid-2011 re-release of the very excellent Ordinaire EP and early 2012, they signed to Black Bell, an obscure wing of an obscure subsidiary of Warner Brothers.
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