Following the organic buzz around shows at SXSW and two early singles for Council Records (Scalping, Talk Show) in “Clearly A Crisis” and “Fear My Society”, NYC’s The Wants return with new track “The Motor”, along with news of their much-awaited debut album release and a headline UK tour. “Container” is due March 17th and promises gloomy, intelligent post-punk that captures the darker elements of American society.

As The Wants wrapped up 2019 with their first UK headline tour dates, they begin their new year tipped ahead of 2020 by the likes of NME, DIY, Dork and more. New single “The Motor” was premiered by CLASH magazine, described as “a song that channels a palpable sense of unease.”

Where previous single “Fear My Society”’s foreboding exploration of human flaws drew airplay on daytime and evening BBC 6 Music shows, “The Motor” arrives on a rush of revved-up electronics and notably uneasy guitar and bass riffs, as guitarist and vocalist Madison Velding-VanDam explains:

“The track was initially intended as an instrumental, that we adapted over time to include vocals. Whenever we play live, The Motor always seemed to be the track with the most immediacy, which inspired us to think further about how we could elevate the track to more than just a live instrumental.

I first had the epiphany for the spoken word vocals that feature in “The Motor” whilst re-watching the introduction to one of my favourite movies, David Lynch’s “Lost Highway”. In it, racing pavement reveals only level white dotted lines shrouded in darkness as David Bowie croons his sinister, 90s industrial art-rock masterpiece, “I’m Deranged”. Taking elements from this, alongside a general feeling of unstoppable locomotion, we arrived at something that captures a mood somewhere between Cybotron’s “Cosmic Cars”, Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn”, and Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”.”

Pre-order the album Container from the Council Records website HERE or via Bandcamp HERE.

The Wants are:

Madison Velding-VanDam – guitar, vocals
Jason Gates – drums, electronics
Heather Elle – bass

Tickets are now on sale for The Wants’ upcoming Feb / March UK tour dates. See the band live at the following venues from next month. Tickets are available HERE.

Feb 26 – Bristol, The Lanes
Feb 27 – London, The Lexington
Feb 28 – Manchester, YES (Basement)
Feb 29 – Glasgow, The Poetry Club
Mar 1 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Mar 2 – Birmingham, The Sunflower Lounge
Mar 4 – Brighton, The Hope & Ruin