They say you have your whole life to make your first record, and on her debut EP, Jayli Wolf gives us all of it. The Toronto-based artist of Anishinaabe/Cree heritage first surfaced as one half of the electro-infused indie-pop duo Once a Tree, but on her maiden solo voyage, Wild Whisper, she rips off the Band-Aid to reveal a long history of personal and intergenerational trauma. Born to a father who was part of Canada’s Sixties Scoop—the systemic separation of Indigenous children from their families into often abusive foster homes and residential schools—Wolf was raised in a religious cult in which she was forced to suppress her bisexual identity. Through these six songs, she charts her journey toward liberation and healing, leading us down musical terrain that’s far more dark and treacherous than Once a Tree ever explored. Fusing goth-folk melodies, alt-rock atmospheres, jagged electronic beats, and industrial dissonance, Wild Whisper is an emotionally harrowing listen, but one fuelled by a hard-fought spirit of resilience. “I wanted the sonics to match the feelings that I felt when I wrote the lyrics,” Wolf tells Apple Music. “These songs were my catharsis, and hopefully they can provide some peace for others who have experienced something similar.” Here, Wolf provides a track-by-track survey of Wild Whisper’s wild ambitions. “Bleed Like Us” “I wanted the listener to experience this track slowly evolve and build to a climactic moment—a breaking point, which was the 'realization' that I was in a cult. When I first woke up, I wanted all my family to get out too. I saw how my whole life was dedicated to this organization, how we gave everything to it. Leaving was hard enough, but I also had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn't save them. ‘I watched the people that I knew/They closed their eyes and worshipped you/I can't save them.’ This organization that I had been a part of my whole life, this society that I had believed was from God, turned so ugly to me. It was terrifying to realize the truth of it all.” “Child of the Government” “I wrote this song purely for my own healing. My relationship with my father is very broken, but this song and its video helped resolve some of that pain. When I put the song out, I didn't know how it would be received. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who messaged me saying that the song brought them awareness. I guess many people weren't aware of the Sixties Scoop—they just weren't taught about it.” “Hush” “I manipulate my vocals a lot on this project to portray what's going on in my head. I have a very busy mind—and the voice of guilt used to be the loudest voice of them all.” “Would You Die?” “I am singing this song to someone I love. Someone who taught me unconditional love. A person that set me free.” “Hell” “Honestly, I was heartsick with depression when I wrote this. And I felt sorry because I knew that my sadness was affecting those around me. I just wanted to express it, as I felt that many could relate.” “Ride” “Initially, this song came out after I had watched the film Mother. I was thinking about how there could have been this beautiful symbiotic relationship between humans and the planet—how, at one point, maybe the Earth loved us back. So, initially, these lyrics were from [Mother Earth’s] perspective. We use and abuse her. We are killing her. However, the song has evolved from when I first sat down to write it. Now, the lyrics (‘Baby, I could ride with you/But I don’t need to die for you’) feel more like an answer to ‘Would You Die?’”