Wildlife Control’s New Album Is a Triumphant and Defiant Return to Form

Wildlife Control (they/them) is a Grammy-nominated musician and producer who records and tours solo and duo with collaborators globally. In the early 2010s, they played a crucial role in helping to establish the New York shimmer pop sound with their critically acclaimed eponymous debut album, the #1 self-released album on the NACC/CMJ Radio 200 chart. 

Wildlife Control has sold out headlining shows at Mercury Lounge in New York City and Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco and played featured slots at SXSW, Bottlerock, and the CMJ Music Marathon. Their innovative videos have garnered praise from WIRED and comparisons to groups like OK Go and Arcade Fire. 

The music video for the artist’s debut single, “Analog or Digital,” which combined their indie rock sound with time-lapse and stop-motion photography, went viral with over 500k views.

Champion. Mountain. King

An entire decade since their self-titled debut took the indie music scene by storm, Wildlife Control is returning with Love. Champion. Mountain. King. An album that seeks to bridge the fast-paced, tech-driven, and culturally divided present with a timeless blend of music, Wildlife Control’s return takes relentlessly modern topics and tackles them with classical songwriting craft.

An album of paradoxes, it’s simultaneously deeply personal and human, embracing technology and AI, as evidenced by the artwork accompanying the album and singles. The music maintains a similar aesthetic to the artwork, with the opening track, “Your Name Is Love,” immediately placing the listener in the story of the main character, an AI recalling their birth.

Across the album, Wildlife Control has humanized today’s topics, wrapped them in many of the best elements from the last five decades of popular music, and delivered an album best summarized by the closing lyric, “It’s alright, be different.”

Fingerprints All Over

As Wildlife Control themselves details, “The title Love. Champion. Mountain. King. is a word-by-word translation of the names given to me when I was born. I hadn’t realized how deeply those names influenced my identity until I started creating this album. Through this process, I’ve found strength and comfort in the multiple dimensions of who I am. If anything, I hope this album helps listeners feel that every proverbial box they’ve ever been put in is way too small.”

Their third LP, Love. Champion. Mountain. King. began as a self-portrait-style project during the pandemic. Unlike previous collaborative projects, Wildlife Control recorded every instrument themselves, including guitars, bass, drums, synths, and brass, inspired by the process behind classic records like Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions and Paul McCartney’s eponymous solo album. 

The record also featured Wildlife Control’s unique production and mixing aesthetic, which was mastered by Joe LaPorta (The Shins, Sleigh Bells, Beach House, The National).

Streaming Now

The full-length album follows four singles, “Make Me Feel,” “Team You,” “Dream Dream Dream My Friend,” and “Your Blood on My Lips,” which received positive reviews this summer across major music blogs. Love. Champion. Mountain. King. is now available on all streaming platforms, including vinyl and CD via Lexsme Recording Co/AWAL. 

For more information, visit wildlifectrl.com.

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