Alex Warren is cinematic and soulful on WILDCHILD.

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5. EMERALD EYES

The first track on Alex Warren’s WILDCHILD—“EMERALD EYES”—is the most danceable, with a funky bass and energetic drums. Lyrically, it’s a pretty standard love song, and there’s nothing “out of the ordinary” there, to quote his record-breaking ballad “Ordinary.” Before this, I had only been familiar with “Ordinary,” so this was a sudden departure musically, and I suddenly had no idea what to expect. I think that’s a great way to open an album. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the tracks super well, but it doesn’t stick out so much that I’m offended or upset by it, especially since it’s good. I was dancing in my chair while I was listening.

4. WILDCHILD

The final track of WILDCHILD is the song after which the album is named. “WILDCHILD,” like several tracks on the album, is about Alex’s father, who passed away when Alex was nine years old. There’s a lot of grief on this album because of that. “WILDCHILD” is a song with a lot of hope and gratitude in it, and it closes the album very nicely. It also ends with a fantastic guitar solo by John Mayer, who was Alex’s father’s favorite artist. An audio recording of Alex’s father is also on the track because Alex wanted to put the two of them on a song together, which I think is very sweet.

3. CRY WOLF

“CRY WOLF” is very different from the other songs on the album, and it’s a fun change of pace. WILDCHILD has very few moments of rage, and this song is very angry. His ex hurt him in the past, and she’s crying for him to take her back, but he’s having none of it. With cinematic strings, powerful drums, and gospel-inspired choir background vocals, this song is intense. He calls her a liar, someone who plays the victim, and says that she’s ruining her own life, so he won’t bother putting in any effort to make her life any worse. This is a side of Alex that we don’t see anywhere else on the album, and it suits his deep, resonant, and slightly raspy baritone very well.

2. ONLY THING LEFT

“ONLY THING LEFT” is an emotional track about a couple who has tried everything to fix their relationship, finally having to accept that the only thing they haven’t tried—saying goodbye—is what they have to do. They’re both still in love, but they’re “out of fight,” and Alex doesn’t want to leave, but it’s all that there’s left to do at this point.

The production moves from quieter with guitars to fully cinematic, but it ends with quiet guitars fading out. It goes in a couple of directions musically, which I appreciate from this album.

1. FINE PLACE TO DIE

I immediately loved “FINE PLACE TO DIE” from the first measure. I could just tell it would be my favorite.

I love the inspiration behind this track. It’s inspired by how popular his music has been in the BookTok community and is from the perspective of Xaden from Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, singing to Violet. I love when singers are inspired by books and movies. It goes very well with the cinematic production of the song, which blends the folk, gospel, soul, and pop genres. I have no idea what Fourth Wing is about, but I’m going to look into it now.

Separate from Fourth Wing, the song is about a couple as the world ends. Alex says that being in her arms would be a “fine place to die,” as per the title. This song is gaining a high honor: a place in my Dungeons & Dragons character’s playlist.

SONG BY SONG RATING

EMERALD EYES (4/5)

SAME STARS (4/5)

PASSENGER (4/5)

RESCUER (4/5)

CRY WOLF (4/5)

FINE PLACE TO DIE (4.5/5)

ARE YOU HAVING FUN, ALEX? (4/5)

I MISS YOU MORE (4/5)

ONLY THING LEFT (4.5/5)

FEVER DREAM (4/5)

WON’T GO BACK AGAIN (4/5)

LAST TIME (4/5)

WILDCHILD (4/5)

RGM RATING

(B-)

Something that stands out to me on WILDCHILD is Alex’s willingness to try different things. “ARE YOU HAVING FUN, ALEX?” is entirely an audio recording of his father, which is also in “WILDCHILD,” and as I wrote earlier, “FINE PLACE TO DIE” is about book characters. I can tell that Alex is doing what moves him, but also having fun making the music. The style is also really cool—cinematic pop with hints of gospel, soul, folk, and even rock that works very well with Alex’s powerful baritone voice.

At the same time, I don’t think that Alex has a super clear artistic identity yet. Lyrically, most of the songs were personal and autobiographical, particularly those about his father, but musically, I don’t know what sets Alex Warren apart. I feel like there’s something, but it’s not quite formed yet. Alex has the talent; it’s about the artistic direction. Everything is good individually, but it’s lacking a wow factor, especially as a collective. There is a lot of potential here, and I’m excited to see where Alex goes in the future.

Emma Platt