Wild Rivers have released their sophomore album – Sidelines – including the new single ‘Bedrock.’ Here, we interview Andrew Oliver – guitar and bassist – about the record.
Bedrock is the single that has kicked off 2022, can you talk about the immediate inspiration behind the track?
“Bedrock” is about the having a tough time. That feeling when every time you catch a lucky break, the rug gets pulled out from under you. Rock bottom, last straw. The song came out of a period of depression, something that can feel completely out of your control. Even after you check all of the boxes, practice mindfulness, drink 8 glasses of water a day, it can still rear its ugly head. This is the moment where you throw your hands up and give in to it. There’s a sense of relief in that, accepting it for what it is and being OK with being down. This song is like the catharsis that comes with that feeling.
You’ve talked about that song coming out of a period of depression, which a lot of people have experienced over the past several years, what do you hope this song means to your fans and those people struggling?
I think outwardly I come across as a pretty happy easy going guy, which most times I am. But I think, like most people, there are times where I don’t feel myself and I have off days, and even for weeks at a time I can feel really crummy. I hope that people could see that and see that it’s normal and ok to not feel good. And when you accept that and name it, it becomes a little less scary. Solidarity is a simple thing, but I think it helps a little bit, to show that you’re not alone and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Your sophomore album, Sidelines is out this Friday – what do you hope fans take away from this new project?
We put so many parts of ourselves into this record. The stories and emotions we feel I think were truly representative of us as people. We were up, down, unsure about the future, silly, confused, heartbroken, in love. I think lyrically and musically it’s a very honest time capsule of where we were at the time. And I think that’s always how we’ve connected with people, connecting with ourselves first, and usually if you’ve felt something someone else has as well.
It’s a deeply introspective project and considered project, have you always found that you look inward for inspiration for your music?
Definitely. We really try to dig into our own feelings. We like to put references of real life people and places to paint the picture and make it feel tangible. At the same time, on this record, we wrote songs about other people’s stories as well and tried to draw inspiration externally. Amsterdam is about a friend of ours who went through a really tough long distance break up.
There’s often quite a weight to a sophomore project to meet the expectations of the debut, were you cognisant of that pressure in the recording process?
I think so, a little bit. It’s just been so long since we made a full length record, and it’s such a massive undertaking. With a project that big you can get in your head about it. But we were comforted by the fact that at the end of the day, it’s just another record, and it’s just a bunch of songs, and we just had to make something we really loved. Which we did.
This project was created all over the place in Connecticut, Los Angeles and Ontario – can you talk us through that?
We rented a house in Echo Park, LA for a few months in 2019 to write the record. We wanted to get inspired by the change of scenery and by living all under the same roof. We had all the instruments set-up in the living room, it felt like a sitcom. We then drove down to Connecticut to work with Peter Katis at his studio. We had been a big fan of his work for a long time. Halfway through recording, the pandemic from our own apartments, parents’ houses, and friends’ cottages. It was definitely not as smooth as a process as we initially intended, but I think all the locations added a new depth to the album.
The project was written before the pandemic, but feels so pertinent to now, how did that feel to record these songs that were written before the world changed?
It was definitely interesting to see the songs take on new meanings as things unfolded. We had created the title/concept of Sidelines prior to the pandemic. It took on an extra dimension as the whole world became “sidelined” from what they would normally be doing.
Songs to Break Up to blew up over lockdown, so how has it felt to now navigate a world in which you can live more freely again but also your music is so well known now?
It is very fulfilling to finally get to interact IRL with the people listening and sharing the songs. We got to see a lot of streaming numbers and data over the last couple of years, but it all felt a bit impersonal and shallow until we were able to be face to face with people again, playing the songs live. The forced time off gave us a whole new level of appreciate for touring.
These have been our best shows yet. Many of the people in the crowds are attending their first shows in a couple of years, and the energy in the room is palpable. We have also added so many songs to the setlist that we are just getting to figure out and play for the first time live. The reaction has been so genuine and fulfilling, it means the world to us.
