The Wrecks’ last record was a cathartic breakup album, but after three years of writing, its newest project is far more introspective. The band’s new EP “INSIDE:” is the first half of an upcoming larger project, “INSIDE:OUTSIDE,” with songs that cover self-realization and the perspectives that come from being alone — all while delivering an upbeat, indie pop sound.
An Los Angeles-based band of 10 years, The Wrecks has stuck to a DIY approach throughout its career. Nick Anderson, the band’s lead singer and a multi-instrumentalist, was originally a ghostwriter for another group. His urge to perform grew as he watched the band perform his songs, and decided to embark on his own journey: He enlisted Aaron Kelley on bass, Billy Nally on drums and Nick Schmidt on guitar, and the four of them became The Wrecks.
Anderson is driven by lyrics and meaning over sound, which proves true across the band’s past discography; its songs tend to portray quirky, relatable narratives. This is exemplified on “Speed,” which evokes a sense of relatability through narrating mundane habits that take place during a bout of depression: “I’ve done the same load of laundry every other day for the past two weeks / I’m still depressed but you can bet your ass my clothes are clean.” The song’s cheerful rhythm and instrumentation carry a playfulness that juxtaposes the lyrics. It creates the impression that Anderson dealt with hard times, but as he writes about it, he can leave it in the past. It’s a nice spin on somber themes, incorporating them into a bubbly, relatable song.
Though continuing to showcase the band’s strength of narrating relatable stories, “INSIDE:” is the band’s most introspective record yet. The record stays consistent in dealing with contemplation and self-reflection — sometimes too much reflection — as a result of being in isolation. Further illustrating this theme is the track “I Didn’t Used To.” The chorus goes, “I think I was made wrong / But I didn’t use to / Am I staying too late? / Am I talking too much? / Was I better off before I knew whether I was?” and shows how being in seclusion can lead one to overthink.
“Why Can’t I Just Be Happy?” may have high energy, but the song expresses an angsty narrative through Anderson’s vocals. It starts as he tells a story of frustration, then right before the chorus, he sings: “I’m too old to be feeling like this / Too young for a midlife crisis / I’m somewhere in the middle / And I’m feeling / Feeling alone as ever, is anyone really out there.” A clear weight on his shoulders is shown through his low pitch. The chorus eventually rocks out as he anxiously belts, “Why can’t I just be happy? / Did I, did I do something wrong?” Not every artist can sing about being depressed while simultaneously eliciting the urge to dance around through a driving rhythm and energizing guitar.
In the same way the theme remains consistent throughout the EP, it stays the same sonically as well across the six songs. Though each track follows a unique shape as it builds, they all generally keep to a similar upbeat, lively pop skeleton with contrastingly darker lyrics. The Wrecks’ past work seems to have a larger range of darker and softer songs, with tunes off of its 2022 album “Sonder” like “I Love This Part” and “Unholy” definitely leaning into the punk genre.
The consistently upbeat, pop rock sound of the EP does not necessarily take away from the record, but instead will get listeners excited to see how the band switches things up with the upcoming latter half of its project, “OUTSIDE.” For now, the hours of sequestered songwriting Anderson put into “INSIDE:” brings a new sense of upbeat heartbreak to listeners’ indie-pop playlists.
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