Wilcox Control - Missing

Wilcox Control

​Missing
self-released; 2017

​3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Wilcox Control are the father and son duo of Jonathan and Sean Wilcox. They released a lo-fi album Missing. The album had some inspired moments along with plenty of things that could have been improved that often have to do with production

The songs in general are predictable and play into rock cliches going as far back as the late ’70s. These aren’t the most original compositions that I have heard but some of the delivery  makes up for it. To be blunt there are issues with the recording quality that if improved could have helped the impact of the songs. The drums are way too low in the mix, other elements are too loud such as the background vocals on “Where Have You Been?” and the vocals were in need of compression or at the very least automation. As an engineer for almost twenty years I enjoy lo-fi recording but there were issues here that could have been cleaned up of the songs to reach some more of there potential

Up first is “Hide Pt. 1” which is a highlight on the album. The song is comprised of basic major and minor chords and is all around a very basic song. Nothing wrong with that if it's a good song and that's what you go here. It has some of the most palatable vocals melodies. It’s a catchy song in a FM radio pop kind of way. Good choice for an opener.

I surmise the next song was primarily done by Wilcox senior. The song has a completely different vibe than the opener. It sounds more aligned to late ’70s and early ’80s rock. The vocal sounds exaggerated here as if mimicking rock gods like KISS. The song felt like an homage.

“Where Have You Been?” felt like straight forward rock revolving around a couple of power chords and love while “The Search For The Dream” is a ten-plus-minute ballad with extended guitar solos. “What I'm Looking For“ is a highlight for the fact that it is catchy and has a memorable chorus. Another clear  highlight is “Sleep” because of the vocal performance. 

This father and son duo will have to work with a professional engineer if they want to take it to the next level. The drums in particular needed a lot of work to compete with commercial recordings.

I love the idea of a father and son working together to make music. You can hear different influences coming through on each song from different genres and it makes for an interesting combo. Missing is an influenced sounding album which isn't even arguable but there is a lot of heart in there which makes it enjoyable. I hope the duo keep at and befriend an engineer to work out some more of the technical issues. 

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