New Music: Wild Love by Wild Love
New local four-piece Wild Love just dropped their self-titled debut record July 7.
The seven-track gem has been almost a year in the making by the band comprised of former members of Carraway and a mix of current and formers members Old Rules. The recording lineup was Adam Feibel (guitar and vocals), Chase Patterson (bass), and Mat Nadeau-Lemyre (drums). Not long after they recorded, Chase moved to Paris and Cody Coughlan (bass) and then Nat Plamondon on (guitar) stepped up. Feibel explained, “We started out last summer, ironically with Nat and Cody. That didn’t really materialize so I took some of the songs and restarted with Chase and Mat. We wrote the album in a couple of months then recorded in February, and finally here we are.”
From the opening distorted hiss and slow-driving drumming of “Wonder” you feel the grunge influence. As the song progresses with Feibel’s dark and questioning vocals over soft electric picking you know you are experiencing a ’90s grunge-tinged resurrection. The song continues and as the singing shifts to screaming you realize this is much more than grunge — there are strong elements of post-hardcore and sounds the plaid-clad rockers of yesteryear never imagined. All this and the first song isn’t even finished yet. Wild Love is a breath of fresh air, something completely different coming out of the city of Ottawa.
The album continues with another rocking track, “Lonely Road”, but the local boys also do not fear slowing things down. Songs like the soft “Everyday Ache”, slow-building “Life Without”, and the powerful closing track “The Way It’s Always Been” shows the band’s range and demonstrates they are not a one-trick pony. Reflecting on the album, Feibel explained, “We’re definitely really thrilled with how this record turned out, and the reception it’s had. Cory Bergeron at Pebble Studios did an absolutely phenomenal job. It was far and away the best studio experience we’ve had and the product reflects that.”
Have a listen to Wild Love for yourself below and keep your eyes peeled as they have a few shows in the work for later this summer and are planning an Ottawa/Toronto/Montréal weekend tour in September.