NEW ARTIST FINDS: WE THE WILD

It’s hard to quantify what’s indie and what’s not these days! Gone are the days when critics could see the fine line between Britney Spears and Radiohead, and lick a bold INDIE tag and stick it on Thom Yorke’s forehead. Indie has gone beyond Indie Rock and we are now witnessing the birth of a fuckton of hybrid genre moms and their beautifully weird mutant band babies. Luckily, that just leaves music critics dumbfounded and they come up with silly new names such as nu-jazz, funkadelic jazz metal, jazztronica and please-don’t-jazz-on-my-face…-jazz.

It’s a sad attempt to stereotype a genre of music that never intended to get stereotyped rather than simply surrendering to the soundscapes. We The Wild is a brand new indie artist duo that has risen like a phoenix out of the ashes of their previous pop rock band Futures, which had their own fair share of indie success. (A big shout-out to BitCandy curator Duffster for this cool find!)

We The Wild have been dubbed as the spiritual successors of Alt-J and Imagine Dragons, and their stunningly unique first four-track EP is a testament to that bold comparison. Ant West and Casey Roarty execute the intricate harmonies, simmering vocals & gentle harmonies with perfection, which makes their debut EP feel like a cross between the deserved climax of The Futures and a promising future for their new project. Their music gives the impression that they are a group chilled and focused enough to care more about the music they play, and bold enough to whack a synthesizer on Kanye West’s face if he ever interrupts their Grammy speech.

We The Wild’s first track “You Lost My Mind” combines splintered guitar riffs with a steadily effervescent beat backed by beautiful, wistful vocals, spray painted with a mild dose of electronica.

“Body Electric Blue” is another uber-catchy indie pop tune that starts off as a melancholic ambient song and builds into a strong, rousing chorus. It will instigate a lot of replay button molestations just like “You Lost My Mind”. (Perhaps that’s why they named it that for their first track as a statutory warning. Luckily, you’ll lose your mind in the best way possible)

It’s easy to see the Alt- J, Bastille and Imagine Dragons influence on them, but it’s blasphemy to doubt their music because they arrived on the scene with the talent to kick ass and chew bubble gum….and they’re all out of gum. It’s only a matter of time before they get their rightful due and We The Wild becomes a household indie name.