The latest single from Dylan LeBlanc has a wonderful, shuffling groove and layers of gorgeously-arranged instrumentation. ‘The Crowd Goes Wild’ is taken from the brand new album ‘Coyote’, an ambitious new concept album from the multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter. Through a semi-autobiographical series of narratives, the album follows a character called ‘Coyote’, who is trying to escape his past. LeBlanc explains that Coyote is, “…a man who lives dangerously, always on the edge. Coyote himself is trapped in the criminal underworld of Mexico. As he struggles to find a way out of his treacherous lifestyle, he is tormented by his past, enduring the pain and regret of lost love and a life wasted. Finding his way towards redemption and freedom, Coyote is confronted by the essence of human nature, materialism, and the inherent desire for more. As the story reaches its peak, he sees himself at a perilous crossroad in Los Angeles, leaving listeners in suspense about his fate.” A concept piece like this is tremendously hard to pull off, maintaining quality and purpose consistently and strongly across all the songs. However, LeBlanc, a great storyteller, manages this very effectively, and the tales he weaves are perfect americana.
This song is a slight departure from Coyote’s story, focusing on the way people often seem to take delight in others’ misfortune and failure. LeBlanc says, “This song zooms out of the story and explains how people have a love affair with seeing their fellow man get torn apart. It also underscores how the system is designed and rigged against those less fortunate and how hard it is to escape poor circumstances, such as those of Coyote.” The lyrical theme is a quite a contrast to the upbeat nature of the song and, as ever, LeBlanc delivers a smooth and captivating vocal performance. This is outstanding stuff – check it out and then enjoy the whole album.
