You may know him from Something Corporate or Jack’s Mannequin: Andrew McMahon has wow’d us again with “Tilt At The Wind No More” – the latest release under his third and most recent project, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. Mixing modern synths and autotune with lyrics that take us back to our youth while sprinkling in some sensitive piano frills, this album certainly checks off all the boxes.
You can find yourself feeling hopeful while listening to “Stars”, with lyrics like “a world without color is a world without you”. This song was performed during the Hello Gone Days Tour in 2022. During this part of the performance, McMahon sported a cape intricately decorated with rainbow firefly lights. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I was impressed as well as pleased with this choice of accessory.
Listening to “Submarine”, the fourth track on TATWNM, I was immediately reminded of a previous single released by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, “Fire Escape”. Maybe it’s the infectious, buoyant tempo or the constant references to New York City, but it seems like the perfect sequel.
My favorite track on the album, “Nobody Tells You When You’re Young”, is a hauntingly beautiful combination of piano and strings. Andrew McMahon took to the social media platform TikTok to ‘challenge’ followers to create a video depicting captions of things they wish people told them when they were young, while using this song as the background music.
Closing out the 39-minute-long album is “Smoke & Ribbons”, what I’m sure will be an anthem and the perfect close to the record. Listening to this song, you feel like you’re reaching the last chapter of a really good storybook. Sad, hopeful, joyous — all at the same time.
Get going on your spring cleaning to jams like “Skywriting”, “VHS”, “Last Rites”, and “New Friends”. Curl up with your favorite blanket on a rainy day while listening to “Built to Last” and “Little Disaster”.
This album can give you everything you’re looking for.
Be sure to catch Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness on tour this Summer.
By: David John Croft