Words by: Verity Hesketh
In this acoustic-averse age of candy-bright pop and self-indulgent mumble-rap, Nosedive by Wildpack is a breezy salute to real, authentic sound. Formed only this year by four second-year BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music) Institute students, Nosedive sets Wildpack’s status as a fully fledged, competent indie rock band. This is good, solid stuff. Tight, neat. Not too firmly stretched, nor too loosely arranged. Just right.
However, that’s as far as this debut gets. We are brought on a journey filled with pleasingly pulsating guitar riffs and clear-as-glass vocals from Josh Coates, but while in sight, the summit is never quite reached.
It’s not an unimpressive track by any stretch. The instrumentals alone are a perfectly wound concertina of sound that perfectly stretch and squeeze through the patterns of the piece. But pattern is key here; the riffs, lyrics and drumbeats fill the tyre-treads made by many previous great indie rock bands. A bit of Arctic Monkeys, but missing the bite, a bit of Kasabian but deprived of alpha certainty.
As far as lyricism goes, Josh Coates writes in the spirit of gritty tenacity, bringing a sense of frustrated lonerism mixed with a determined pull of his own boot straps; ‘’Cause I’ve been down too many times/I hope to God that I will soon escape/This small town state of mind’.
It’s certainly a decent first release for a young band, as a foothold on a journey to greater things. Wildpack have lit a fire from the raw instrumental talent they possess, now they need to let it rage.
‘Nosedive’ is now available on all streaming platforms.
Instagram: @wildpacktheband
Listen to the track here: Nosedive by Wildpack