Recording to tape at San Diego’s Audio Design Recording, Wilder and an array of accomplished players crafted an achingly authentic, entirely analog record embroidered with boldly imaginative arrangements. Often co-writing with his producers and players, Wilder shunned genre templates to freely indulge a rich, eclectic palette of influences. 

Album opener “Rollin” is a raucous yet ornate outpouring, Wilder’s gospel-y delivery draped in slide guitar, ecstatic brass, and soaring female backups, while the Theremin- and saw-laced “Bluebird” is a gorgeous waltz duet with Brit chanteuse Jess Roberts. “Fever” was recorded while Wilder was experiencing a manic episode, its grungy guitar dynamics offset by an almost spoken baritone verse. Flitting between brooding calm and saturated chaos, the song’s multiple personalities are all portrayed by Wilder in the accompanying Rory Morison-directed video.  

Ultimately, Wilder sees Sound Emporium as a visceral, broadly relatable grab bar in listeners’ rollercoaster lives; a sonic and lyrical experience that embraces letting go of toxic and trivial thoughts in favor of truly conscious, participatory existence.