album of the week: Yolk In The Fur - Wild Pink

Every so often, an album comes along with the ability to never grow old. There are those releases that sneak into the very fiber of your being, their tracks becoming worn into your heart — as repeat listening sessions feel fresh and new every single time. Yolk in the Fur from Wild Pink is one of those special, subtly magnificent albums, and no matter whether it’s your fifth or fiftieth time with this one, there is truly some new element to unearth — whether it be an unheard lyric or a stray string.

There are times when this record feels almost too personal to take in. Sure, artists use personal material as inspiration literally all the time, but with Yolk In The Fur, it truly feels as if you’re the unseen passenger on some momentous journey. The record begins with “Burger Hill,” an unhurried and lush acoustic-filled track that paints a winter scene so clearly, you can nearly feel the bone-chilling cold. And the track’s one line — “I woke up too fast from a dream” — seems to set the stage for the rest of the release. Yolk In The Fur is like walking through dream, and it’s one that we’re hesitant to ever awaken from.

From the quiet twang of “Lake Erie,” that literally sets your heart soaring (especially with the heat-jerking line: “I believe you when you say you've been sad for your whole life/Your body looks impossibly small when you hang your head and cry”) to the to the mysteriously tumultuous, but placid “Jewels Dressed In The Runoff,” every single second of this release is dazzling and different.

Our own lives and the current world might be a cesspool of terrible happenings, but this album gives you immeasurable hope. It’s a reminder of how beautiful things can truly be, and how an album that displays its whole heart can come to occupy a space in your own journey. We may never discover every secret or circumstance that led to inspiration for this release, but those eternal mysteries are what make repeat listens so worthwhile.