We begin with "In Exile" and what we're greeted with, is a hushed, indie inspired track and, the vocals are clean, almost sad in their delivery, adding poignancy to the title. It stays relatively steady throughout before reaching a brilliantly guitar-lead climax as the track comes to an end, there's a lot of emotion running through this and its a good intro. "No Mans Land" follows up with an even softer, acoustic opening. The minimalist use of piano gives the song an extra softness, but again as we get nearer the tail end of the song, the drums start picking up and all of a sudden we've got this, almost orchestral rock vibe and it sounds incredibly lavish, but ends far too abruptly. Disappointingly even...
"Take Your Shot" for the most part is a more up-tempo affair, it's got a decent, solid rhythm going here and despite still mainly being laid back, it's got more bite to it and showcases some superb guitar playing; the solo, short and sweet as it is flows effortlessly...speaking of short and sweet, "The Final Thing On Your Mind" is by far the polar opposite. Clocking in at nearly ten minutes long, it's more of an endurance test this one...given how restrained it is. Like tracks before it, it takes over three minutes to start getting anywhere but it pulls back, almost teasing the listener, not allowing that release. It does get going, eventually, but you get lost in the length of the track and by then, its easy to have lost focus, before we round things off with "Where We Stood".
"Your Wilderness" is a somewhat appropriate title for this album...the songs throughout whilst for the most part are pleasant, they also borderline annoying at times...they fleet between being intense and interesting...but also frustrating, almost wild themselves. Natural, not typically or, overly structured. Is it rock? Is it acoustic? Is it art? It's good...but where do we place it? Imagine the likes of JEFF BUCKLEY...brilliant, but it might take you years to realise. [8]