Americana’s more surreal side has been one of the bigger headlines in 2023, whether it’s coming via the postmodern composing ideals of the indie rock community or a generation of lyricists uninterested in the plaintive hooks their predecessors experimented with. There’s no end to the cerebral content that underground artists are submitting to the masses for approval this spring, but if you’re more inclined toward the straightforwardness of an old-fashioned pop model, a player like Ezra Vancil might have just what you’ve been looking for in his new EP We Were Wild. We Were Wild is a cathartic offering that compiles seven self-aware folk songs that are neither synthetically faceted nor devoid of emotional honesty, and best of all, complexities are left on the sidelines entirely.
In the record’s title track, we get to find out how relevant a classical folk-rock arrangement can be when it’s got a skilled singer at the helm of the project, and I must say, the results of Vancil’s effort here immediately put a smile on my face. “One Big Heart” and “Wish I Had an Angel” are similarly black-and-white, but it’s only in the single that we get a complete grasp of the independence this singer/songwriter enjoys from componentry his peers would just as soon stylize an entire album around. He doesn’t need the extras when he gets into the studio – give this guy a mic and some quality instruments and he’ll give you beautiful music.
“Bad’r Man” and “Texas Hills” aren’t hook-centric but have plenty of melodic fireworks worth bragging over, mostly centering on the vocal performance Vancil breaks off in both tracks. He’s so adept at slinking through these grooves that it’s as though he’s been rehearsing this material since he was a kid, waiting for the right moment to share it with an audience desperate for some kind of pop pick-me-up. As a vocalist, he’s more in the zone here than I was anticipating he would be, and if it’s showcasing even a fraction of what he could bring onto the live stage with him in the future, I wouldn’t want to be one of the unlucky folks without a ticket to see him play in concert.
I must admit, I always come into self-released content with a bit of skepticism just because of how flush the market is with premium talent at the moment, but when it comes to an artist as gifted as Ezra Vancil, even a casual listen can turn a hardened critic into a believer in his sound. His melodic profile is a diamond in the rough while the way he goes about recording his music should be considered a new standard for the numerous indie players trying to make a name for themselves on either side of the American underground this year, but he’s not being overly cocky about his skills in We Were Wild. Vancil is a musician’s musician and potentially a folk music enthusiast’s best friend this season, and that much is quite obvious when listening to this record.
Heather Savage