Wild Pink Break Down New Album Dulling the Horns Track by Track: Exclusive

The post Wild Pink Break Down New Album Dulling the Horns Track by Track: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence .

Track by Track is our recurring feature series in which artists guide readers through each song on their new release. Today, Wild Pink break down their wonderful new album, Dulling the Horns.

Wild Pink just keep getting better and better. Starting with their 2017 debut and culminating in 2022’s highly acclaimed ILYSM , songwriter John Ross and company have emerged as one of the most quietly consistent, compelling, and emotionally intelligent acts in indie rock. Now, as they return with the lively Dulling the Horns , they continue their streak of excellence, clearing the high bar they’ve set for themselves.

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With Ross finding inspiration in everything from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to a Michael Jordan documentary to vivid dreams of close friends, the songs of Dulling the Horns feel wholeheartedly alive. The lyricism plays it a little looser than Wild Pink projects of the past, and the instrumentals kick the rock factor up a notch. You can hear the humans behind the performances as the band rips through driving anthem after driving anthem.

“Me and Justin Pizzoferrato, who engineered the record, were talking about The Blue Album [from Weezer] as inspiration for some of the guitars — not just amps, but chord shapes too,” Ross tells Consequence . “It was really fun to lean into making the guitars sound big, though, Justin Pizzoferrato is really good at that. Naming the record after this song felt like the right move. I think it represents the overall mood of the record pretty well,” he added, speaking on the title track.

It’s yet another high point for the band, and one that continues to push their sound into new, increasingly exciting territories. Stream Wild Pink’s Dulling the Horns in full below, and read on for John Ross’ Track by Track breakdown of the record.

You can also revisit our 2022 interview with Ross , in which he dives into ILYSM.

Wild Pink are currently on a tour of Europe and North America in support of Dulling the Horns . Tickets can be purchased here .

“The Fences of Stonehenge”:

The opening lyric came from a line in The Two Towers . The rest of the words are basically playing off rock and roll tropes. I was kind of frustrated with how this came together in the studio for some reason, but now I like it a lot. Arden’s bassline is a lot of fun and locked in with Dan’s drums.

“Eating The Egg Whole”:

Most of this was written while watching the Michael Jordan documentary [ The Last Dance ] . I wanted this song to be kinda airy and have a lot of room for the vocals to sit on top, so the guitars are just big, ringing chords for the most part. David Moore’s piano part is really nice too; kinda takes it to a different place than where I started with it.

“Cloud Or Mountain”:

Me and Justin Pizzoferrato, who engineered the record, were talking about The Blue Album [from Weezer] as inspiration for some of the guitars — not just amps, but chord shapes, too. Those ideas were really fun on a baritone guitar. This song was really fun to write and rewrite. Lyrically, it’s kinda all over the place. The middle second half is basically about Lefty Ruggiero.

“Disintegrate”:

I came up with the main guitar part for this while trying to learn The English Beat — “Save It for Later.” Then I played some MIDI sax on it like a keyboard — the demo has some densely stacked trashy sax parts, but ultimately I asked Adam Schatz to play real sax on it. The chorus reminds me of Jurassic Park a little bit.

“Sprinter Brain”:

This is a really fun song to play live now and is definitely one of our fastest tunes. Another one where the sax and piano take it to another level from where I started with it. I wanted the beginning to feel like “I Melt with You.”

“Dulling the Horns”:

I wrote this song really quickly, which is unusual for me now. It was really fun to lean into making the guitars sound big, though, Justin Pizzoferrato is really good at that. Naming the record after this song felt like the right move. I think it represents the overall mood of the record pretty well.

“St. Catherine St.”:

I think this is my favorite song on the record. It reminds me of a song that would be on the self-titled first record. I started writing it while extremely hungover before a show in Montreal when I really just wanted to walk home.

“Catholic Dracula”:

Musically, this song is pretty inspired by “The Wayward Bus” by the Magnetic Fields. Lyrically, it’s obviously about Dracula, who is an interesting historical figure and undead monster. There’s nobody else like him. It’s wild to me that he was literally a Christian crusader in the 15th century and is mostly just thought of as being a vampire. Kind of THE vampire.

“Bonnie One”:

This song is about a dream I had about my friend Ryley. It’s pretty much a line-by-line retelling of the dream.

“Rung Cold”:

Before this record was called Dulling the Horns , it was called Rung Cold . I think it also represents the record pretty well. This song kinda goes on a journey with the different sections. It’s fun to stitch together a couple different ideas into the same song and see how I can make it work.

Wild Pink Break Down New Album Dulling the Horns Track by Track: Exclusive
Jonah Krueger