We Say…
Seattle’s self-styled, “grunge-babies”, Wild Powwers have been making waves in their home city and across the US, with a live show honed through touring slots with the likes of The Fall Of Troy and Prism Tats. The band are set for even bigger things, with this month’s release of their third album, Skin.
The album finds the band harnessing their psychedelic wall-of-noise into a more focused and nuanced sound than ever before, without losing any of their energy along the way. The record is varied and intriguing; it floats from the extremes of brutal psych-sludge and bristling harmonic pop, and yet never misses a step. Vocalist Lara Hilgemann has a scream any post-hardcore singer would be proud of, yet is equally at home serving up perfectly judged vocal harmonies with drummer Lupe Flores. Intriguing, raw and very, very exciting, Wild Powwers breathe fresh energy into the old rock clichés, and come out snarling and ready for their, surely inevitable, acclaim.
They Say…
FTR: For those who don’t know who are Wild Powwers?
We are three dirtbags from Seattle, WA. Lara plays guitar and sings, Lupe plays drums and sings sometimes, and Jojo holds it down on the bass.
FTR: What can you remember about your first show?
Our first show was at a small dive bar in North Seattle in 2014. We were nervous. We walked in and the sound guy/promoter was definitely on something zippy. He was eating a boat of sour cream with a tiny bit of baked potato in it. Without a utensil. His hands and face were covered in sour cream. He proceeded to then shake our hands and kiss Lara on the head. It was disgusting. The sound sucked, (the mixing board was covered in sour cream), but all our homies came out to support, so it ended up alright, despite “Sour Cream Hands,” which we have called him ever since. Needless to say, we never played there again.
FTR: Why do you make music? Why not another art form?
We all have different creative outlets, and do actually practice other art forms, but music is the thing we each individually NEED to stay sane and not burn shit down on the reg. You can’t exactly scream at a painting, or at a plate of food you cooked, and feel the same way. It’s a necessary cathartic release.
FTR: What can people expect from the Wild Powwers live show?
Lots of hair. Tequila. Your ears will be ringing, you’ll feel some feelings, and you might have a bangover the next day. (We ❤ headbangers).
FTR: What’s next for Wild Powwers?
We’re headed out on the road in October to support the release of our new record Skin (out October 12th). We’ll probably tour again in the Spring (hopefully nationwide). Annnnd we’re almost done writing our next full length record, so we’ll head into the studio sometime early 2019. So…more head banging and tequila.
They Listen To…
Prism Tats “Mamba”
We went on tour with this band last Spring, and absolutely fell in love with Garrett and his music. All of his music is brilliant, but this song runs the gamut of all the feelings. Dig it.
Constant Lovers “You Look Smashing”
We toured with these dudes last Summer, and absolutely fell in love with them and their music TOO! They fucking shredded their hairy, glamorous hearts out every night. This song is impossible not to headbang to. Joel’s amazing discordant screaming, and the polyrhythms they create really gets us going.
David Bowie “Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide”
Bowie is probably our biggest musical influence. It’s impossible to just choose one song from his incredible catalog. But we love how this song builds and when he screams toward the end, our basements are flooded.
Siouxsie and the Banshees “Jigsaw Feeling”
Fuuuuckkkkk how we LOVE Siouxsie Sioux. And Budgie! Such an incredibly rad and unique drummer… Don’t even get us started. It’s so impossible to choose just one song. Just listen to all of it. But this song makes us thrash around and scream, which is kind of our shit, if you haven’t noticed.
Brian Eno “Needles in the Camel’s Eye”
This is one of our number one tour songs. It’s our favorite song to drive through the desert and play drums on the inside of our van to. He also has an amazing catalog, but this song always puts us in a good mood.
Skin is out October 12th via Nadine Records. Click HERE for more information on Wild Powwers.
For The Rabbits 