Wild Ones new album due 6 October 2017
Album release: 'Mirror Touch' by Wild Ones
Release date: 6 October 2017
Label: Topshelf Records
More info: Band website
Today, Portland, OR band Wild Ones has announced their new album, 'Mirror Touch', out October 6th, 2017 via Topshelf Records. Nylon premiered the first single 'Paresthesia' calling it "a catchy indie gem with a deeper meaning". Vocalist Danielle Sullivan says of the track, "Paresthesia refers to a time in my life when anxiety was ruling my mind. I was withdrawing from friends, wasn't leaving my house, and had stopped engaging with the world outside. The song explores strained love in the context of manifested fear." Listen to 'Paresthesia' here
Wild Ones delve into the bliss and burden that musicians are tasked with today: create work that captures your spirit, but do it without selling your soul. Self-produced and recorded, they walk the line of DIY oddity and polished pop sheen. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the band combines the talents of lead vocalist Danielle Sullivan, keyboardist Thomas Himes, drummer Seve Sheldon, guitarist Nick Vicario and bassist Max Stein. Growing up on Cocteau Twins and En Vogue, their sound is a mash of R&B synths, muted guitar, and somber vocal melodies. After 7 years together, they've hit their stride in creating work that poses questions about art and authenticity.
'Mirror Touch' explores spaces of isolation, loneliness and how it feels when the line between self and other becomes blurred. The record title refers to the condition 'Mirror Touch Synesthesia' and the physiological experience of empathy. How can you know yourself, when in public you become everyone else? The songs explore the quest to maintain artistic self-integrity in an industry that seeks to homogenize. Solitary in their process of collaboration, Himes and Vicario produce the music, while Sullivan crafts lyrics and melodies, their attempt at self-preservation against the ever-changing expectations of what music should or should not be. Combining their style of upbeat melodies with a backdrop of darker lyrical themes, an inquiry into their artistic process ultimately reflects a balance between earnest head nods to their favourite sounds with a fierce loyalty to their own sense of self.
Press reaction to date
"Filled with impeccable arrangements and a mature pop sensibility that hits you from the first note." – TIME
“A soothing and comforting blend of dazzling piano and dream pop rhythms. Sullivan’s voice washes over the lush instrumentation, adding a sense of clarity to the tracks.” – Consequence Of Sound
“Full of glimmering synths and keyboard, and singer Danielle Sullivan's vocals fill the track with a cinematic quality” – The Fader
“A synth-pulsed, slow groove that'll slot nicely between Chvrches, Ladytron, and Purity Ring in your record collection.” – Noisey
“Goes down as nicely as an ice-cold pint on a warm summer day with its shuffling percussion and angelic vocal melodies.” – The 405