Los Angeles indie rock five-piece The Lonely Wild have just recently released their debut album The Sun As It Comes. Recorded and produced entirely by the band, the album marks years of tireless touring and hard won acknowledgement from their LA musical peers and from newly converted fans across the US. Influences notwithstanding, The Lonely Wild effortlessly meld the dusty rock tendencies of bands like The Walkmen and Calexico with the thumping percussive crescendos of artists like Band of Horses and Titus Andronicus without feeling indebted to any particular sound or musical genre. There is a sense of blurred borders on The Sun As it Comes which allows the band to shift rhythmic tactics quickly—sometimes within the same song—and allows them to approach each song from a slightly different angle. Taking time from their extensive supporting tour, the band sat down with Beats Per Minute to discuss some of the records which have had a substantial impact on the development of their own music. The band chose to let each member pick one record and talk about what it means to them personally. Check out their picks in our latest On Deck feature.
Ryan Ross (Multi-Instrumentalist/Vocals)
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd Dark Side of The Moon: I remember listening to it on full blast with my dad when I was a kid. The dynamics and soundscapes they created are something that has stuck with me and inspired me.
Andrew Carroll (Lead Vocals/Guitar)
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is about as close as an album gets to perfection. I’m not sure what the writing process was like, but the songs sound as if they spilled out of Jeff Mangum all at once. The record is totally unified musically and lyrically, sewn together with repeated themes and imagery. You can feel the desperation in the performances and in the raw production. The acoustic guitars and drums are blown out, the vocals are strained, the horns hold notes until the players are shaking out of breath. It sounds as if they’re all playing like their lives depend on it. And while it was released in 1998, it’s nothing like the rest of rock music in the 90s. If it came out last week, it would still sound fresh. I love the album so much, that my wife and I danced to the title track, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” at our wedding. It has one of my all-time favorite lyrics: “Can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all.” That about sums it up.
Dave Farina (Drums/percussion/vocals)
Led Zeppelin – IV
Led Zeppelin IV is the album that made me pick up drumsticks for the first time. I vividly remember sitting in my basement playing along to “When The Levee Breaks” with my ears in a discman. Bonham’s grooves were so simple that I could play them even though I hadn’t been a drummer for more than a few months, but within the simplicity was a world of dynamic control, intensity, and tastefully crafted fills. In this way, John Bonham taught me how to play the drums.
Jessi Williams (Multi-Instrumentalist/Vocals)
Neil Young – Neil Young
For me it’s easy to pick the artist – Neil Young, of course. It’s hard to pick the album. At some point in my life each Neil album could have been the soundtrack. I’d love to say Decade as that would cover a good portion, but since it’s technically a compilation album I guess I’ll try a little harder. Neil Young’s self-titled release also has a special place in my heart. It’s definitely one of those albums that transports you to another place and time. Neil Young was a MAJOR influence in my decision to start playing guitar and writing music.
Andrew Schneider (Guitar/Vocals)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?
When I first began playing rock music, I was a 6th grade kid with an electric bass in a Nirvana cover band. I thought Nirvana was the end all be all of music. For Christmas that year, my Aunt Susie gave me Neil Young’s Decade, The Who’s Who’s Next, and Hendrix’s Are You Experienced?, all of which absolutely blew my mind. But it was the sounds I heard on Experienced that made me use my Christmas money to buy a fuzz and wah pedal, and ultimately trade in my bass for a guitar. I don’t think there’s a better debut album out there, and I can only imagine what it would have been like to hear that record and those guitar sounds in 1967. Hendrix is my only guitar hero whose solos I’ve never tried to sit down and learn. They’re so perfect and unique that I feel it’s an insult to Jimi to attempt to recreate them.
Head over to The Lonely Wild’s website to purchase a copy of their recently released album The Sun As It Comes.
