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Wanderlust Jumps Labels for New LP
Releases somnambulistic folk and Country tinted "Insomnia" on Plateau
Nevaras City, Duchy of Nevaras
October 10, 5636


Wanderlust returns to softness on fifth album "Insomnia"

The genre-, and apparently label-hopping Davostag-Kalistani rock quintet Wanderlust has released their latest LP, called Insomnia through Nevaras' Plateau records.  The decision to do so reflects their stated desire to do something "different", and in this case, it sees them attempt a country inflected rock sound that feels topical.  "We wanted a late night feel to our record," said singer Dame Elga Nilsson, OAE.  "So we got Plateau to agree to let us use the studios overnight while we recorded this record."

Sir Peer Markinsson, OAE, primary song writer of the group noted that though this music is inflected by country influences, its not a country album.  "I would probably say it is more heavily influenced by being burned out after all these years.  We spent a lot of time writing and recording demos since experiment (the bands previous LP), and a lot of that took place up in Vrassa. Its a little more rustic. We went pretty far in one direction and then we came back again as far in the other direction."

The production is a lot sparser on Insomnia, and a lot grittier. "We had a lot of really kind of dry mixes on this record," said Markinsson, who produced much of the album. "We were going for a bluesy rock song. We've done jazz, we've done electronica, but the blues tuning is also quite in line with where Kalistani music has been and also kind of returns up back to First Band. So its new and familiar at the same time."

The band has certainly changed over the years. Long gone are the slippery smooth production of the band's earlier albums- they have all but ditched their sophistipop designation more than one record ago, and have adopted the rock moniker. Also out the window is Nilsson's buttery vocals which endeared early fans to the band. "Well, I'm older," said Nilsson. "I am no longer a little girl. I took up smoking for experiment because I kind of wanted to shred, to push past that kind of lounge retro sound. I think I needed to prove that we weren't just that one thing, that we can do ANY thing we want." She also noted that before she recorded each night, she would drink a shot of Hutorian Whiskey, neat, to kind of shred her voice even more. "And you can notice, I mean, I noticed, that there is a tremble in my voice, a little vibrato that you can hear. I think it sounds a lot better, a lot more how I sound when I sing in the shower now. It sounds more real."

Insomnia is certainly a late night album, most explicitly on the title track which utilizes a soft droning organ, softly played accoustic guitars, and brushes on a muted snare, as Nilsson's voice is so lithe, it almost sounds drowsy. The band have moved beyond putting catchy pop melodies behind melancholy lyrics. Instead, the melodies now are quieter, more subdued and more melancholy themselves. But the topics also cover adult themes, including breakups, domestic violence, and resignation. "I mean, not everything is sadness and sorrow on this record," said Nilsson. "It's more like a long overdue comedown than anything else. You can still experience joy and happiness, you can still hold onto something or someone you love during that, but you know, if you've just been through hell, and you need some time to heal, that's kind of what we were going for here. The band has been there for a few years, and I think this record reflects it. The light at the end of the tunnel of course was that we are in a place now, as people and as a band, where we can make this record kind of at the end of that process."

As for switching labels, the band said the switch was not permanent. "We wanted to do this record at Plateau, because we needed to get out of Sulari for a while, and because Plateau saw our vision for this record," said Markinsson. "ARC was kind of pushing us to do more electronic based music, but we wanted to do more of a roots rock record, and the producers ARC was giving us couldn't quite get the sound that I hear in my head down on tape. Nothing against ARC, but this record was meant to be made at Plateau." Markinsson produced every song on the album, but he was paired with Plateau engineer Gina Howard, who helped him get the right sound out of Plateau's studios. "It sounds so different than the album we would have been able to produce at ARC," said Markinsson. "Like the studio just has these low lights and you can tell lots of late night jams have happened there, though the place is only a few years old."

The album signifies a reunion of sorts for the band, who has been on semi-official hiatus since 5534. "We all started individual side projects," said Nilsson. "I have been singing for an indie band, Basecamp, in Vrassa. We don't have any albums out. Peer has his side projects out and put an EP out last year; he is also writing a lot for other people too and has really gotten into production. Lars (rhythm guitarist/keyboardist) and Magnus (drummer) have been playing clubs in Sulari, and Lindy (Bass) has a solo project that he's been recording in Sulari. The break was nice, and it gave us some time to kind of recharge, try new stuff, and bring it all back to the album."

You can listen to the entire album Insomnia, produced at Plateau Studios in Nevaras, right here and check out the video for the album's first single, "Insomnia", recorded live and lo-fi at M7 Studios in Kaliburg.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4bN_Hm3nuk]

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