Remi Wolf – 'Mud' review: less funk, more feeling
On her third album, the Californian swaps colourful synth beats for acoustic instruments and country touches. The AP gives it 4 out of 5 stars.
Photo: Raph_PH / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Single video: YouTube · RemiWolfVEVO · youtube.com
Single: I Won't Cry
Remi Wolf released her third album, 'Mud', on Island Records on October 9, following 'Big Ideas' (2024). The eleven songs were made in places including Nashville, Big Bear, Electric Lady Studios in New York and Joshua Tree; John Mayer sings on 'Moon So High'. The ballad 'I Won't Cry' has an official video, co-directed by Wolf and Milo Nichols and set in a car wash.
The Associated Press gives it 4 out of 5 stars: Wolf leaves the funky, synth-heavy sound of earlier records behind and puts acoustic instruments up front – the result is 'dirty and imperfect but renewed'. AP names the upbeat 'Wine Drunk', with banjo and electric guitar, as a peak, while 'Champagne' can be skipped. Pitchfork rates the album 7.3 out of 10.
NME's Hollie Geraghty also describes a move away from colourful maximalism towards a rawer, more subdued sound. Emotional openness replaces the comic punchlines of earlier songs, and her voice is her most powerful instrument – especially on the country numbers. Weaker, she writes, are 'Jamie' and the slow-building 'Guess'.