Single Review: Wild Fire “Just To Have Someone”

Swinging out of the darkness of 2020 and into the light of 2021, there’s optimism abound in the new single “Just to Have Someone” by Wild Fire (Kayla and Kelli Iutzwig) and I’m not talking about its stunning lyrical content alone. Comprised of vocals that are soft and brooding but not at all indulgent, the focal point of this song is unquestionably the melody carrying forth its every poeticism, but the charm of Wild Fire’s sound doesn’t stop there. From every angle, these two talented young women attack the hook with a fierceness that suggests they’re barely scratching the surface of possibility with a performance as grand as this one.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/wildfiresings/?hl=en

Thought this is no small statement for any critic to make given the depth of the songcraft here, “Just to Have Someone” has all the hallmarks of a sample of what’s to come more than it is an identity single, and I actually think the former is quite preferable to the latter in this situation. This duo are only a few years into their career and still developing a debut album, but at the moment they’re exhibiting a willingness to persist in their evolution that goes above and beyond what I’ve heard from their peers lately.

There’s no stopping the chills that these string parts set up from the second they come into the fold, and while the lyrics are plenty expressive in their own right I think they get one heck of a boost from the canvas atop which their color resides. There’s a slight bucolic element to the harmony that feels decidedly folkier than it does derived from the conventional Nashville sound, and as much as I want to see this pair remain committed to the country in their country/pop sound, this is nonetheless an element I’d love to hear them explore further. The chemistry these two have is something you just can’t fake in this style of music, and to leave it unexploited in any capacity would be to waste a plethora of talent they’ve only started to unveil here. This story is beginning, and I don’t think any of Wild Fire’s diehard listeners are going to disagree with me.

FANLINK: https://wildfire.fanlink.to/justtohavesomeone

I just discovered Wild Fire just recently, but after looking into their extended discography upon falling in love with “Just to Have Someone” this past week, it’s safe to say I’m hooked on their music. There’s still a lot of ground that these skilled players have to cover as performers and songwriters, but as long as they stay true to the rootsy part of their sound more than they do the sleekness of the pop influences defining their frillier attributes, I don’t see why they won’t find a lot of success in the years to come. “Just to Have Someone” is country/pop with an elusive folk bend Wild Fire present a lot better than I would have originally expected them to, and if given the right venue I think they could showcase this component of their artistry to as much praise as they have anything else to date.

Loren Sperry