Infusing post-garage and post-grunge flavors into a nostalgic indie rock sound, Kinda Wild II is the twelve-track sophomore album from Shaky. The solo project captures the bittersweet “morning after” following a first-part debut that resembled more of a “party” and reached the NACC Top 200. Kinda Wild II consumes as a soulful, self-produced exploration of memory and hope.

The stylish “Like What You See” kicks off the album with a mixture of twangy, warming guitars and delectably eerie synths. A resonating vocal presence, a cross between suavely melodic and spoken-word, emerges with contemplative allure: “Why does it have to be so hard when I’m falling off that table?” — culminating in a soaring “I wanna give you my life” sense of adoration, channeling a nostalgic, soulful rock passion that sounds like a cross of The Strokes and Foxygen. “Sugar” ensues, strutting a brisker, jangly rock prowess as punchy vocals admit “I almost thought that you were staying.” The fantastic central hook, with a more elongated vocal feeling, strongly induces replays, again drawing comparisons to Julian Casablancas.

A more blaring rock ardor is evident on “In a Heartbeat,” its “going in for the kill” vocal momentum arising into a glistening “not a liar” hookiness; the track caught our ears fully earlier this year, and the rest of the album matches its quality songwriting. Another highlight is “We Don’t Hate,” immersing in its post-punk rhythmic character and chirpy guitar line interactions, while album finale “Make It Real” dazzles in its moody bass-forward verses and harmonious, MGMT-like central hook, stirring especially past the two-minute turn as psych-ready guitar mystique and bouncy bass meld into a moving vocal enthrallment. Consistently serving up quality songs, Kinda Wild II is a definitively gripping full-length from Shaky, released via Shaky Records.

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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

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