The Wilderness { EP Review } . Kyler England

The Wilderness is the 2018 EP from singer and songwriter Kyler England. This intimate project brings a fresh perspective on Kyler’s invigorating blend of pop and electronic music, bringing a tasteful retro vibe to her work.

“Best Is Yet To Come” the opener of the EP, as well as one of the most striking tracks on this collection of songs, has the great 80s vibes and synth-driven soundscapes. It makes one think of artists– the likes of Chvrches, DIIV or Daughter.

The record goes on with “Little Light”, another fantastic track with a stunning stylistic concept. This song is based on the singer’s stunning vocal harmonies, with a simple, yet extremely nuanced and rich arrangement. The vocals build the core of the song, while background instruments and beats slowly creep in, creating a really tasteful layering of different melodies and ideas.

“Holding Up The Sky” is quite different: while the previous song had massive layers of vocal tones, huge reverbs and a lot of harmonies, this tune begins with a more intimate feel. The initial piano chords and vocal lines create a tasteful sparse feel, which really makes for one of the most introspective and melancholic tracks in this collection of tunes. The song later evolves to introduce different vocal harmonies, a cool electronic beats and some interesting beats, as well as a touching piece of lyrics that actually inspired the name of the EP: “Now I’m alone in the wilderness of my heart.”

“Never Gonna Get Over You” is a very touching romantic song with a really relatable set of lyrics. If you’ve been in love and lost someone, you know exactly where this song comes from. The stunning textures and beautiful ambiance are perfectly suitable to the mood and topic of this track.

To finish up, the 5th and conclusive song on the EP is “Give Up The Ghost.” This song has a great backdrop of melodies and drones, converging into a glitchy beat with drum machine and spliced-up vocal samples that have a very cool experimental tone. On the other hand, the song also featured one of the catchiest verses in this release, and one of the most memorable hooks. This couldn’t have been a stronger ending to the EP!

Kyler writes a liberating narrative to how the songs to the EP came about. A very personal story that she hopes will inspire and bring hope, if not comfort to any one who shares the same experience. 

Tracklist

1. BEST IS YET TO COME
2. LITTLE LIGHT
3. HOLDING UP THE SKY
4. NEVER GONNA GET OVER YOU
5. GIVE UP THE GHOST