Strange Wilds: Subjective Concepts

Hailing from Olympia, Washington and formed in 2012, Strange Wilds comprise of Steven (Vocals/Guitar), Sean (Bass) and Allen (drums). For three guys, they make one glorious racket. 

The group formed, when Steven met Sean while Sean’s band from Boise was playing a gig in a house where Steven lived. They became friends, and several months later formed a band called Wet, gigging around the West Coast as a four-piece. Allen was added as a full-time member in 2014 after a line-up change, and the band changed its name to Strange Wilds to release a 4-song EP and tour immediately. Sub Pop came calling, and signed the band last year.

Their 2015 album Subjective Concepts is a continuation of this theme. Each song arrives noisily, pulling up in the driveway all engine revs and spraying shingle and leaves by kicking the door in and throwing it into the pond. The 11 songs here bleed with the hybrid DNA of Seattle’s past and future.

Right from the off the onslaught is unleashed. Opening shot 'Pronoia' sets the marker for the rest of the album. Buzzsaw guitars burn all over thrumming bass and chaotic drums. Steven's scream-speak vocals are primal. It’s a ferocious opening.

 ‘Don’t Have To’ is sleazy industrial rock recalling mid 90’s Marilyn Manson while ‘Egophilia’ opens with a twanging bass line and blurred drum speed bursts and that grab you and haul you along. 'Oneirophobe' is a sinister, sneering track with disorientating tempo changes and a snarling chorus. ‘Lost and Found’ kicks off with a Smells Like Teen Spirit-like riff, all very college radio until it swerves off in to layers of shock guitar riffs and throat-shredding vocals. Some songs drive through monochrome sludge and dirge while others soar and speed along at jarring breakneck pace.

Strange Wilds are all about riffs, rage and energy. It’s a freight train, a shuttle launch, a seismic beating of epic proportions that leaves you staggering and blinking into the twilight once over. These guys essentially smash the place up and leave you with ringing ears, elevated heart rate and blurred vision.

They combine the roar and swagger of the Pixies with the heavenly scuzz of Bleach-era Nirvana.

Listen to the entire album below and hear for yourself.