- I first discovered Wilsen in 2017 via a seemingly random YouTube auto-play algorithm. Their first full length album I Go Missing In My Sleep came out the same year. As a hazy series of quaint, yet fully realised vignettes, the Brooklyn trio were a welcome surprise. Approaching their second album Ruiner, it was clear that Wilsen would continue to dive deeper into their songs about the natural world.
The heavy, shimmering guitars that kick off the record with its title track and lead single, are a welcome change of pace. Ruiner packs a riveting punch with its electric guitar and howling vocals. It’s certainly more of a rock song than the band is used to, but they still find room for a distinctly Wilsen instrumental twang.
Alike to Ruiner, the album’s second, more synth driven single, Feeling Fancy, hinted at a slightly heavier sounding record. Where Feeling Fancy packs a newfound danceable energy for Wilsen, the album still doesn’t stray too far from the introspective thematic roots of I Go Missing In My Sleep. Even in Feeling Fancy, Wilsen capture the emotional capacity of their debut with lyrics like, “your quiet’s not a fault to weed out”.
Perhaps those lyrics are integral to the structure and flow of Ruiner, an album, that sees no need to pretend to be louder or more obvious than Wilsen want it to be. Instead they pack their punch subtly. Album closer Moon shows off their delicacy best. It’s one of the folkier songs in their discography, but perfectly concludes an album so filled with lyrics about their connection to the world.
It’s in these breezy songs with titles like Birds, Fuse and previously Dusk, Garden and Centipede that Wilsen draw comparisons to Mazzy Star and more recently, Big Thief. Just like Big Thief’s Adrienne Lenker, Wilsen blend folky guitars, with humming synthesizers and flickering drums. More so than a band, Wilsen come across like an ecosystem. That’s the true beauty of Ruiner, an album that paints a world of vivid and hazy sounds in harmony.
- Sean Tayler.