WUT has today premiered the new video for the track titled ‘Mingling with the Thorns’. First off, the video for ‘Mingling with the Thorns’ shows that WUT seems like a fun band to hang out with. Not the type to act cool just to be with the cool kids but the type of people that you can be yourself with and realize that you’re as cool as they are as well as just being yourself. Having said that, ‘Mingling with the Thorns’ is one of those ultra cool (there’s that word again) track that comes from the underground just long enough to take you back to where all those tracks reside and belong, because, the alternative is now the alternative and the mainstream is blatantly corporate.
About ‘Mingling with the Thorns’
We filmed the video for “Mingling with the Thorns” on tour last summer when we stopped off at The Enchanted Forest in Revelstoke, BC. The Enchanted Forest is the former home of artist Doris Needham, who, in the 1950s, created the cement fairytale creatures you see in the video.
Although it looks like we were alone in a deserted woodland, the park was actually super crowded! Each time we filmed a scene, there would be a small group of frazzled parents and whining children waiting for us to get it over with so they could walk by. I (Tracey) was in my absolute happy place, skipping around and sincerely admiring all the colourful critters while wearing my park ranger clothes, which was our outfit theme for the tour. I don’t know if it was the heat, the cost of admission, or the fact that kids just don’t seem to be excited by weird gnome statues these days, but the stress levels in that park were off the charts!
I personally got so many dirty looks and nasty comments from other adults that, at one point, I ended up crying because I felt embarrassed for being so joyful and childlike. Thankfully, the rest of WUT came to the rescue to remind me that I never need to feel ashamed for being my authentic self and enjoying the hell out of a 1950s folk art paradise!
About WUT
Since 2018, Vancouver BC’s jangle-pop meets riot-twee trio WUT have been making a local name for themselves with their joyfully heartfelt live performances. In 2020, the trio released ‘NOW’, an energetic cassette accompanied by 10 DIY music videos. These earnest and often humorous videos reflect WUT’s playful yet sincere songwriting. Recently, WUT recorded ‘Mingling with the Thorns’, their sophomore full-length album, which comes out August 23rd on HHBTM Records.
‘Mingling with the Thorns’ was created during two years of intermittent quarantines which caused guitarist Kaity McWhinney (Knife Pleats / Love Cuts), bassist Tracey Vath (Knife Pleats / Love Cuts), and drummer Lauren Smith (Tough Age / Jock Tears), to write songs independently, and share their ideas through countless emails, dropbox folders, and google drives. Long periods of isolation were consumed by experimentation with different arrangements, and often an idea would be re-worked over and over (and over) again.
This resulted in a collection of carefully crafted pop songs that reflect the bands mutual love for c86 jangle pop and early Flying Nun Records bands. McWhinney’s longtime friend and musical collaborator, Christina Riley (Artsick, / Burnt Palms) joins WUT on the track “Your Feelings”, which pushes the band into the realms of garage rock with her raw and frenetic lead guitar. On a surface level, ‘Mingling with the Thorns’ may seem fun and carefree. However, a dig deeper into the album’s lyrical content draws up themes that grapple with patriarchy and late stage capitalism; specifically the struggle to find personal autonomy within these social systems.
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