Photo: Erick Frost
Southern California musicians Stephen Ramos and Nick Sturz teamed up more than 10 years ago to form their first band. Since then they’ve spent hours in the studio and on the road, performing dozens of tours across the states, recording albums and paying their dues. They’ve learned valuable lessons by means of failure, success, and perseverance, and the duo have formed what they feel to be the most accurate representation of who they are as artists – this representation being Wilder.
Their music is upbeat, infectiously melodic and resemblant of the Southern California aesthetic from which it was created. The duo releases their debut EP, BAD BAD LUCK, today which is a high-energy and introspective collection of indie-punk/rock songs reflecting largely on the band members’ experience as young adults in the church and their journey making a fresh start.
The songs feature heavy drums, sweet guitar riffs and look into the past, the present and towards the future. The EP’s opening track, See Through, is about seeing through the facade people put up, and the uptempo rock song gives the listener a great introduction to the EP and Wilder. as a band.
bitemytongue instantly draws you in with a cool guitar riff, and it’s a song about looking back into your past and realising that things you thought you were doing to become a better person were actually hindering you.
The title track, Bad Bad Luck, talks about being stuck in what seems like an endless cycle of negativity and possibly also a very negative headspace. How it feels like all you have is bad luck and nothing seems to go your way. I'm guessing we've all been there at some point. This song starts of more soft than the previous two tracks but builds up with drums and guitars leading into a catchy chorus that makes you want to dance.
Oh No really embodies the path to how Wilder. came to be. The instrumentals are bright but the lyrics are more vulnerable and very honest; "I got what I want, still kinda feel lost". It shows the internal struggle of a fresh new start, yet still being unsure and not knowing what it will lead to.
The EP’s last song, Hang Up, feels uplifting and hopeful with lyrics like "It’s never gonna be this way forever, I gotta move on". It’s giving a feeling of closing a chapter and starting a new one, and being ready for whatever awaits.
BAD BAD LUCK is available now via Rude Records.
by Emmi Sollie
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