Premiere: This Wild Life’s “Catie Rae” Is a True, Unabridged Love Song

This Wild Life capture love’s magical journey in “Catie Rae,” an emotional acoustic ballad full of warmth and poignant beauty.

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Love is a journey as much as it is an emotion: It’s the story of two souls living and growing together, sharing their worlds as they challenge each other and support one another. Love doesn’t happen overnight; it happens over a lifetime. This Wild Life capture love’s magical journey in “Catie Rae,” an emotional acoustic ballad full of warmth and poignant beauty.

I’ve never made much of a living
Despite living fast
I’ve never been in the best condition
I’m running out of gas
I’ve never been good at admitting
Mistakes in my past
I’ve never had a sense of direction
Until I met ya

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the live session of “Catie Rae,” off This Wild Life’s glowing third album, Petaluma (June 22, 2018 via Epitaph Records). The acoustic duo of singer / guitarist Kevin Jordan and guitarist Anthony Del Grosso, This Wild Life could not have chosen a better name for their story: Originating as drummers, the pair formed a punk act about a decade ago, receiving mild acclaim before selling the drum kit and reinventing themselves as an acoustic band.

A current staple of Warped Tour, The Wild Life have explored a wide swathe of emotions and experiences through three ambitious and incredibly diverse acoustic records that blend pop, punk, rock, and folk influences. Following the darkness that shrouded 2016’s sophomore album Low Tides, the recently-released Petaluma finds This Wild Life leaning into the light like a plant might grow toward the sun [1]. The breakout single off Petaluma, “Catie Rae” has been described by vocalist Kevin Jordan as a “quirky ukulele laden love song,” and while these words definitely ring true, they only scratch the surface of this song’s many layers.

The choruses, each of which serves to further the depth of a couple’s connection, find Jordan embracing the journey, taking the good and the bad as equal parts of the whole:

Love is so much more complicated than whatever we see portrayed in media and entertainment; it’s easy to fuck up and hard to fix, but at the same time, it’s also hard to fuck up and easy to fix. There is no guide to love:  The journey shared between each couple is wholly unique, making the love they share equally unique. As such, we’re all on our own – and yet, we’re in it together, weathering storms with our partner and taking each day one step at a time.

You’ve always been just what I’m missin
But never ever knew
You’ve always earned just what you’re given
Never handed to you
You’ll always be my best decision
My one and only truth
You’ll always be my heartbeat my rhythm
It’s always been you

“You’ll always be my best decision,” Kevin Jordan sings in the song’s second verse. “My one and only truth.” This Wild Life manage to glorify love without sugarcoating it, depicting its complexity while celebrating its magnificence. Few artists manage to capture the real depth of love, but in acknowledging and embracing its many sides, This Wild Life manage to make “Catie Rae” a true unabridged love song. Their breathtaking performance under the Huntington Beach Pier in California brings us closer to Petaluma‘s sunny disposition, as well as the song’s undeniable warmth.

Watch This Wild Life’s live session exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and dive deeper into Petaluma here! This Wild Life can be seen on Vans Warped Tour this summer.

Watch: “Catie Rae” – This Wild Life

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[1] Fun Fact: This process is known as phototropism, and bands do write songs about it!