The sound of Paul McCartney and Wings’ “One Hand Clapping” used to only be heard on bootlegs, or in snippets available on archival releases over the years.

But its complete official release deserves two-handed applause.

As aging rockers empty their vaults, McCartney steps forward with “One Hand Clapping,” more than two dozen songs that were recorded 50 years ago for a video documentary and possibly a live album.

The record finds McCartney and the 1974 iteration of his band Wings in peak form as they set up shop at Abbey Road Studios in London. The recordings were made while “Band on the Run” was enjoying a seven-week run at the top of the British album charts.

Maybe it’s because he’s in the Beatles’ old studio, or maybe it’s because “Band on the Run” was riding so high, but McCartney delivers spirited work on “One Hand Clapping.” He revisits beloved Beatles songs like “Let it Be” and reaches even further back to Buddy Holly tracks from the 1950s. But he and Wings put the most energy behind new material such as “Jet” and “Junior’s Farm.”

“One Hand Clapping” serves as a fine snapshot of McCartney during this post- Beatles creative high, with a fair number of rarities. Half the tracks have never been officially released before.

“One Hand Clapping” succeeds by bringing all the songs together in one place for the first time. And that’s a major win for McCartney fans who never got the bootlegs or who haven’t shelled out big bucks over the years to pick up the songs that were included in dribs and drabs on other rereleases. — Scott Bauer, Associated Press

Canadian folk-pop trio Wild Rivers takes the name of their latest album from the opening cut, “Never Better,” but the implied assertion is at least debatable. The band’s last full album, “Sidelines,” landed in 2022 as a no-skip masterpiece, combining memorable, original hooks with angsty lyrics that made the band’s rise to top-tier status seem inevitable.

This album doesn’t sustain those heights all the way through, but that’s a high bar. It does contain enough of the band’s secret sauce, the poignant lyrics and elegant harmonies of singers Khalid Yassein and Devan Glover, to qualify as a worthy follow-up.

Of course, it’s never smart for a band to keep doing the same things over again, and Wild Rivers hasn’t done that. The trio, whose third member is Andrew Oliver, has always operated on the fault line between folk- Americana and pop. “Never Better” veers more toward pop than most of its previous work. Produced by Gabe Wax — who helped the indie band Soccer Mommy develop its appealing jangle- pop sound — the album sometimes allows production to overshadow the band’s real strengths.

Take the title track, “Never Better.” It’s a fine song, but the opening lick and the main hook sound a little too much like Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars.” That’s not the worst thing, and the lyrics are compelling enough to sustain the groove. But it does leave you waiting for the moments that have set Wild Rivers apart since they emerged from Queen’s University in Ontario less than a decade ago.

And the moments do come. The voices of Yassein and Glover, blended together, have an uncanny multiplier effect that takes the songs they sing to breathtaking heights. On “Everywhere I Go,” it’s Yassein taking the lead as Glover shadows him with understated elegance. On “Dance” and “Backfire,” they switch it up and let Glover lead the way.

“Backfire,” a poignant ballad about the delicate balance between friendship and love, begins with perhaps the rawest moment on the album, when Glover sings: “From the second we met, I knew you’d be significant.” It’s unadorned and vulnerable, and her voice meets the moment. Yassein waits until midway through to come in underneath her, happy to help her soar.

Wild Rivers is at their best when Yassein and Glover are allowed to rise above the sound. It would be hard to find a band with more complementary voices working on each other’s behalf. — Scott Stroud, Associated Press