Wild Pink

There’s a novelistic impression to the songs of Wild Pink, where characters peer over the edge of potential futures, past mistakes and paths not taken. Backed by a dive bar hue, NYC-based frontman John Ross blends the existential with the celestial, gathering pieces of passer-bys, fictional figures, and historical idiosyncrasies to make sense of what’s in front of him. It’s on their sixth album, Still Coming Down, that Ross cements the voice he’s been steadily honing over the years.

The album pokes fun at the listlessness of consumerism, coping through detachment and finding the punchline of it all. Ross is a consummate of curiosity, becoming a narrator of a warped and unpredictable America, morphing everyday mundanity into a cinematic, sepia-toned flipbook. Propelled by the witty and ravenous wisdom of 2024’s Dulling the Horns, Ross’ poetic form has only gained traction, as jocular, heartfelt stories pour with a clever and distinctive ease.

NFL bros cruise alongside big guys in grocery stores with even bigger tattoos; ghost stories and references from the cinematic haze of movies like Heat, Moneyball and The Town buzz in the background while Ross also points to Waterworld and The Perfect Storm — heroes who wander, looking for answers at the end of the world.