New Music Tuesday: Anika Pyle

The former Chumped singer leaves behind pop-punk for sparse spoken word and gorgeous atmospheres

The records that tend to stick with me the most are ones that I associate with a season, and Anika Pyle has written the perfect album for a wintery February day.

Written in the wake of the death of her father, Wild River, is a stunning debut album that mixes spoken word pieces and traditional songs. The songs are bare-bones, made of acoustic guitar and keyboards, while Pyle’s voice floats above in a heavenly reverb bath.

She also explores electropop with “Prayer For Lonely People,” a hooky number that channels early Beach House and Sinead O’Connor. The track is built around unexpected synth flourishes and bass hits; it’s a vintage ballad that begs to be turned up in your car.

The album’s theme of working through grief and how Pyle writes about it is earnest and organic and will connect with those who have experienced the horrible process of losing a parent. Wild River’s centerpiece, the spoken word of “The Mexican Restaurant Where I Last Saw My Father” (hello, unexpected La Fogata mention) and “Orange Flowers” combines for an absolute gut-punch, as Pyle wrestles with the small moments that make up memories after someone’s passing.

Although musically different, Wild River is a companion to Japanese Breakfast’s Psychopomp. They are albums written while coping with so much grief and pain that the rawness reaches out to touch the listener in unforeseen human ways.

Pyle, originally from Monument, Colorado, and now based in Philadelphia, previously performed as the singer and guitarist for Chumped, a Brooklyn pop-punk band from the early 00s. With their fantastic EP and the single “Hot 97 Summer Jam,” Chumped caught major buzz before breaking up less than a year after their full-length debut Teenage Retirement.

I knew Chumped from a friend in my New York days and saw them a few times as they played nonstop around the city. Almost a decade later, I had forgotten about the band and didn’t place the connection when I first listened to Wild River. This album is so special, and the shock of its relation to Chumped makes me love it even more because Pyle has grown so much as a songwriter.

By allowing the quiet to breathe, Anika Pyle has created one of the best albums of this early year.

Rating: ✌️✌️✌️✌️½ /5

Wild River is available via Bandcamp.