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Description
Released in early 2017, *The World We Built* stands as the label debut for the Los Angeles-based five-piece Wild Reeds, marking a crucial pivot point in their sonic evolution. Signed to Dualtone, the album was produced by Peter Katis-the architect behind the hazy, textural landscapes of The National and the Swell Season-who expertly shepherded the group through their transition from folk-rock roots into a more dynamic, alternative rock-oriented sound. The collaboration was fruitful; Katis' production emphasized the band's inherent harmonic complexity, allowing three lead vocalists-Mackenzie Howe, Sharon Silva, and Kinsey Lee-to weave parallel narratives into a cohesive whole.
Thematically, the record confronts the internal and external pressures of touring life, the struggle of being a female-fronted act in an industry historically dominated by single-gender power structures, and the band members' evolving spiritual convictions. While the cover features a stark, dripping skull-a metaphor the band describes as a graduation from previous identities-it is a skull surrounded by gentle flowers, an intentional juxtaposition of death and rebirth that the rug-textured drips reinforce. This duality mirrors the album's content, which eschews the "Christian band" label despite members Howe, Silva, and Lee sharing upbringings in Christian families; their spirituality remains a genuine, unfiltered thread in the songwriting rather than a calculated appeal.
Critically well-received, the album's standout track, "Fruition," a seven-minute epic, showcases the band's willingness to stretch boundaries, utilizing extended instrumental passages to reflect on growth and the "struggle of three women and of the two guys" in their band. No Depression highlighted the record as both an empowering document for the group and a standalone discovery for listeners seeking authentic, unpretentious artistry. The band's decision to hand-sew tour patches in support of the Downtown Women's Center further underscores their commitment to activism over safe entertainment. Far from a mere collection of songs, *The World We Built* is a defiant, textured statement that asserts the importance of honest expression and collective survival in a world often hostile to those who do not conform to its expectations.
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Citations:
- [No Depression review & interview with Mackenzie Howe](https://nodepression.org/the-wild-reeds-share-the-world-theyve-built/)
- [Highway Queens album review](https://highwayqueens.com/2017/04/28/album-review-the-wild-reeds-the-world-we-built/)
- [NPR first listen review](https://www.npr.org/2017/03/30/521970241/first-listen-the-wild-reeds-the-world-we-built)
- [AllMusic artist page](https://allmusic.com/artist/the-wild-reeds-mn0003419188)
- [Bandcamp album cover](https://thewildreeds.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-we-built)
- [Genius lyrics](https://genius.com/The-wild-reeds-the-world-we-built-lyrics)
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