Wickham Falls | Wickham Falls
(Independent)
I am predisposed to like any band that treats the Monkees like an actually great band instead of being dismissive of their greatness, so I was pretty pumped on Wickham Falls’ rather high-fidelity update of “Last Train to Clarksville” on their stellar self-titled second album. The Warwick alt-rock foursome, which features singer-guitarist Brooke Nilson, bassist Conor Larsen, drummer Lilly Nicholson, and guitarist Luke Nicholson, formed in school, like a proper band of young ruffians should. Paul Antonell (Shawn Mendes, Natalie Merchant, Living Colour) and producer Shubham Mondal (Post Malone, Jack DeJohnette) helped polish things up in the studio without losing any organic charm. “This Time It’s Different” is perfectly catchy, radio-ready funk rock. “Serpentine” rides an early ’00s Strokes groove, with gnarlier drums, into a glorious, diary-pop-hybrid horizon. Nilson is adept at turning common private musings into deeply relatable mini-anthems.
This article appears in May 2022.
