Two bi-coastal brothers who normally collaborated from opposite ends of the continent came together at the mid-point city of Austin last March for the famed South by Southwest music festival, and delivered on the faith that SXSW organizers had in them enough to give them an official showcase, an honor for any musician or band. Since their SXSW appearances, which included four non-official showcase gigs, the duo have been on a roll.
Formed in 2010, Wildlife Control is comprised of Neil Shah, based in Brooklyn, and his brother, Sumul Shah, headquartered 3,000 miles away in San Francisco. While they spend a good amount of time as far apart as any two people can be geographically in the United States, they were about as close as any two people can be via the wonders of the Internet. The convenience of modern day “locale no importante” technology – like inexpensive recording software and high-speed Internet – has made it possible for the Shah brothers to collaborate musically almost as easily as if they were in the same room (and, as some brothers might say, “easier”; Ray Davies and Dave Davies of The Kinks may have benefited at one time in their long and legendary love-hate relationship had they had access to Skype and file-sharing sites).
Bi-coastal, Internet-connected collaboration and all, the Shah brothers regularly come together in the physical world, as they did for their SXSW premiere. On March 8th, about a week before their trip to Austin, Wildlife Control released their self-titled debut album. And while the official release of their debut LP coupled with playing SXSW was a milestone in the brothers’ musical career, Wildlife Control had been building up a buzz in the blogosphere for some time thanks to their infectious, dreamy electro psych pop.
As demonstrated on new stand-out songs like “Ages Places” and “Different,” the talented brothers weave together ambient layers and melodic hooks featuring reverb-drenched guitar jams, soaring synth compositions, muffled bass playing, driving, rhythmic drum beats, and wavering choruses, effectively creating what we like to call the ‘colorful light show in the mind’s eye,’ similar to the effect that electro psych pop pioneers like Animal Collective achieve in their kaleidoscope soundscapes.
During the past couple of years, the brothers have recorded and toured with collaborators on both coasts. Last August, Wildlife Control made it on to CMJ’s Radio 200 chart. The brothers followed their debut release with headlining shows at the Mercury Lounge in New York City, Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, and also performed durng NYC’s 2012 CMJ Music Marathon. Their innovative music videos have garnered praise from Wired magazine and been compared to groups like OK Go and Arcade Fire. Combining their big indie rock sound with time lapse and stop motion photography, the music video for the band’s debut single, “Analog or Digital” has been viewed over 350,000 times on YouTube alone.
“Ages Places” – Wildlife Control from Wildlife Control – March 8th
“Different” – Wildlife Control from Wildlife Control
Wildlife Control’s official website and Facebook page.
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