The Wrecks
Article by Andy Cantu
Hosted by: 1824 - UMG’s creative solutions team
California based indie band The Wrecks is soon to be the name on everyone’s lips. Aside from releasing the first half of their new album, a six song project titled INSIDE:, the band is also embarking on a 31-stop tour starting and ending in their home state of California. The INSIDE:OUTSIDE Tour will be the biggest tour for the band thus far, and is sure to build up anticipation for the second half of the album, OUTSIDE, which is set to be released shortly after INSIDE:.
INSIDE:OUTSIDE is an amalgamation of seemingly contradictory feelings that frontman, Nick Anderson, felt while attempting to write a follow-up to the band’s last album, Sonder. Nick felt Sonder had a very clear message he was trying to express, whereas the songs he was creating for the new project didn’t seem to fit together very well. The songs that best represented his current state became the tracklist for INSIDE:. Nick stated he is excited for fans to hear the new songs, especially their upcoming single, ‘I Didn’t Use To,’ a song he feels he’s been waiting to write for years. “I think I have a pretty good grasp on… what I think is gonna do well and what is gonna be the sleeper hit,” shares Nick.
While the release of this project is a new endeavor for the band, the creative process was similar to that of their previous albums and EPs. “...I could write a song about building a desk and people could relate to it. If you write it from an honest enough point of view, you could write a song about anything and people could connect and apply it to their lives,” Nick said about his approach to creating music. “Genre has never been front of mind, especially as a producer…The thing that I like most too about making the music myself is the challenge of like making a style of song or something that I've never done before…It feels like every production I do it’s only interesting if it’s kind of a challenge. If there’s a bit of a puzzle to solve...”
In addition to the eccentric songwriting and production for the album, Nick has honed in on the project’s visuals. “I’m looking at this four bedroom house that’s empty and I have no roommates… But how often do I have time to myself to make arts and crafts in all the rooms,” Nick stated. For the past few months, The Wrecks have been releasing several videos depicting the creation of their music video for ‘Speed’ on their Instagram. According to Nick, the ‘Speed’ music video is only one element of the visual project and there is still so much to be released. “The music video was a way to facilitate this larger idea that I had and a good way of showing it too,” added Nick with credit as director.
The Wrecks are in the midst of incorporating the album’s visuals into the set up of their live show, which has proven to be challenging. They have a unique approach to touring that will have fans wanting to attend as many stops as they can. The perfect setlist will certainly draw their attention from start to finish. “For the first time ever, we did a setlist debate and it was pretty productive,” Nick mentioned. He described the Discord event that featured the band and their fans arguing over what songs deserved a spot on the setlist. “There were some staples on our set that maybe will be making their way out because we were convinced pretty hard by some fans,” he added. However, Nick hinted the final setlist won’t be decided until after the start of the tour. The band likes to change the setlist as the tour goes on, and they have joked about starting the tour with the new project on the entire setlist and ending with only their older songs. Regardless, fans and new listeners alike should take the opportunity to see them on tour wherever possible and experience INSIDE:OUTSIDE in all its glory.
