Wild Child recorded Fools at Doll House Studios in Savannah, Georgia. Produced by Peter Mavrogeorgis and David Plakon with additional tracks helmed by red-letter guest producers Max Frost (“Break Bones”) and Chris “Frenchie” Smith (“Trillo Talk”), Fools reveals that while the band has grown up to become fiercely skilled musicians who have charmed the world, their faces remain grinning and often painted, spirits stubborn and free, barbs sharp and cathartic.

Wild Child’s third album Fools is an ambitious collection of lush pop that takes sad stories and transforms them into an ebullient love letter to the power of music and the art of living with yourself.

Made up of Kelsey Wilson on violin and vocals, Alexander Beggins on ukulele and vocals, Evan Magers on keyboards, Sadie Wolfe on cello, Chris D’Annunzio on bass, Drew Brunetti on drums, and Matt Bradshaw on trumpet, Wild Child has built a sprawling grassroots following on the strength of high-spirited live shows that feel like self-contained joy benders, along with two precocious albums.

While writing for the album, Kelsey split from her fiancé of five years, then watched as her parents divorced. “It was the first time that I’d ever had writer’s block,” she remembers. “Within a week, all of the lyrics just came out.”

“She used this album as a platform to say a lot of things she wanted to say,” Alexander says. “It’s a story that’s not exactly linear, but you hear someone going through something.”

Fools is an unashamed breakup album, but it’s more than last rites for lovers. The record also bids farewell to the traditional lives Kelsey and Alexander had thought lie in store.