Casey Roarty and Ant West make up London duo We The Wild, a band that has artfully mastered alternative pop. The laziest way to explain their sound is to think of the electronic leanings of Alt-J and Everything Everything, mixed with the big, hard-hitting choruses of Imagine Dragons or Bastille and you’ve got a relatively good idea of what these guys are about. But it doesn’t do them justice to simply reel off similarities. We The Wild have their own sound which was showcased last year through the release of their debut EP, simply titled Volume I. It was a collection of four songs with bags of potential that impressed critics and fans with their innovative, quirky sound epitomised in their more than colourful album art.
Last month they returned with their sophomore EP, appropriately titled Volume II, to much anticipation. In this second taste they’ve swapped the upbeat, high tempo for a more, chilled, lo-fi vibe. This transition from the relative safety of their attention grabbing first EP to the more subtle personality of the second shows the band have a sophisticated and intelligent flair about their creativity. The album art has also appeared to grow with their new sound. Instead of the swirling, psychadelic colours put forward in the first outing, Volume II has a rather more tame and minimalist cover with a black and white theme. Although distinct, the eight tracks across both EPs have shown one consistency; a consistency in the duo’s ability to craft attractive sounds out of off-beat and complex rhythms that would otherwise sound messy and pretty reckless, a difficult skill to master. Support for the band is growing with every song they put out and festival they play, surely a sign that they’re doing this music lark right. Nods from BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio and XFM won’t have damaged their reputation and having been asked to remix tracks for Lewis Watson and Bipolar Sunshine, and tour alongside Dan Croll, rounds off a pretty impressive list of reasons to keep an eye on these guys.
