Portland synthpop outfit Wild Ones emerged with a tumultuous start. While readying to record their 2012 debut album, Keep It Safe, guitarist Clayton Knapp blew out an eardrum and drummer Seve Sheldon found himself in the hospital with a punctured lung. Despite the setbacks, the band persevered. Sheldon practiced on a drum pad in his hospital bed, and the band managed to make a limited budget work by recording in their warehouse studio space adjacent to booming metal bands.
Thankfully, those grim days are behind them, and the trials have only made them a stronger and more inventive group. Now, they’ve taken a second go at recording without turmoil on their latest EP, Heatwave, out August 14th via Topshelf Records. This time around, Wild Ones brought in Telekinesis’ Michael Lerner to mix and Grammy-nominated engineer Jeff Lipton to master the project.
“This EP has real characters and narratives that I hope people can engage with and relate to,” frontwoman Danielle Sullivan tells Consequence of Sound. “I wrote about young people passing through the threshold into early adulthood — confused and unready. The female characters are fierce and brave. The stories live in humid summer nights in big cities off the coast.”
The final product is 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. Tracks like “Loveless” swirl with ever-so-danceable beats and infectious melodies. It’s an elegant record, sparkling with layers of sonic exploration and pop structure.
Pre-orders are ongoing through the band’s label. iTunes pre-orders also come with an instant download of the track “Dim The Lights”.
Wild Ones will embark on tour this fall with Pure Bathing Culture. After an album release show in August, the band will take a short break before hitting the road in September beginning at Rifflandia in Vancouver, BC.
Wild Ones 2015 Tour Dates:
08/14 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
09/17 – Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Festival
09/18 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza #
09/19 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club #
09/22 – Fargo, ND @ Studio 222 #
09/23 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club #
09/24 – Madison, WI @ The Frequency #
09/25 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas #
09/26 – Champaign, IL @ Pygmalion Festival
09/27 – Cincinnati, OH @ MidPoint Music Festival
09/28 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement #
09/29 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern #
10/01 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake #
10/02 – Montreal, QC @ Bar le Ritz #
10/03 – Boston, MA @ Middle East Upstairs #
10/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right #
10/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle #
10/07 – Washington, DC @ DC9 #
10/08 – Carborro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room #
10/09 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn #
10/10 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight #
10/12 – St. Louis, MO @ The Demo #
10/13 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar #
11/01 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SoHo #
11/04 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom #
11/07 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links #
11/08 – Norman, OK @ The Opolis #
11/09 – Omaha, NE @ The Reverb Lounge #
11/11 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive #
11/12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court #
11/13 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux #
# = w/ Pure Bathing Culture
