Austin-based ensemble Wild Child shared their newest single “Cheap Champagne.” It’s the latest peek into their upcoming album End of the World, out March 31 via Reba’s Ranch Records, their new self-run label exclusively distributed by Secretly Distribution. A dreamy, full-bodied ballad, the song details the closing of a relationship and the bouts of second-guessing that quickly follows. The track’s wistful and uncertain opening easily climbs to an impressive crescendo, introducing a confident horn and expansive string segment as bandmember Kelsey Wilson’s sweeping vocals highlight the tragic passion felt at the beginning of the end.

The band says, “This song has always felt special, like we had to get it right. Sometimes songs feel like they fall from the sky, like they were always there floating around above you and you just have to guide them down. Other songs are more elusive and less obvious and take years to find their form and place; where you collect little pieces of them along the way and have to be patient with them trying to put them all together.”

End of the World is the band’s fifth full length album and their first since 2018’s Expectations. The album finds the band delving deeper into the contemplative edge which has long colored their songs, and sees the band expanding intimate, folky songs into lush, full band arrangements, as heard on previous singles “End of the Word,” “Wearing Blue” and “Photographs.” The record finds the band – known for their explorations of love and intimacy – at an impasse; how can we continue to love and thrive in the post-pandemic era?
 
The album was born out of a distance between the band’s core songwriters as they headed in different sonic directions. Wilson joined the singer-songwriter super group, Glorietta, and debuted her genre-bending, Motown/Neo-Soul-influenced solo project, Sir Woman, while Beggins unveiled his musical alter-ego, CoCo Zandi. By then, the two didn’t know if they would ever make another Wild Child record. However, once pandemic lockdowns closed stages and drained bank accounts, the two knew they had to act. Lockdown brought about virtual shows and songwriting sessions while adding new vitality to the group. 
 
“It felt like our very first record, when the two of us wrote a bunch of songs while on tour for someone else. There wasn’t any aim to do anything with those songs at the beginning. For the first time since then, that’s how we started writing these songs. We didn’t know if we would make another record. It just came together,” Beggins says. Sometimes, the “End of the World” is only the beginning.

Photo Courtesy: Megan Buse