Search
SUBSCRIBE
Home Blog Page 952

Worst Rated Players on FIFA 23

Abbie Wilson
-
0
Worst Rated Players on FIFA 23

The discussion for the best player in the world is always on going. From Ronaldo to Messi — no one really knows. But who is the worst? Surely that’s impossible to say. It’s so subjective. Well, we have FIFA 23 for that. We’ve looked at all the main positions and conducted the worst players in them on FIFA 23 and crowned an overall worst starting XI on FIFA 23.

Devansh Dabas (Position GK – Overall 46)

Devansh Dabas is a goalkeeper for India’s Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League. He is relatively young at 20, so the rating definitely isn’t personal, especially looking at this potential which is currently 55. That would easily take him out of the running for the worst goalie in the game. Dabas’ highest stat in the game is jumping at 62, which does feel quite harsh. His market value currently stands at €90 thousand.

Gao Xiang (Position GK – Overall 48)

Gao Xiang isn’t exactly the second-lowest goalie within FIFA 23 but has only 54 potential — 1 less than Dabas. He plays for Wuhan FC in China, and his market value is even less, with €60 thousand. Unlike Dabas, he has no stats over 60. His highest attribute is strength at 56.

Aqeel Al Dhafeeri (Position CB – Overall 46)

Another painful rating is acquired by a young centre-back Aqeel Al Dhafeeri. Now, the initial rating is rather low, but he does have a potential of 63 which considering that he is 17 years old, certainly doesn’t make him that bad. He does a few stats within the 60s, including his highest stat, which is acceleration at 64. His market value is currently at valued at €110 thousand.

Zhao Wenzhe (Position CB – Overall 48)

Slightly better rated Wenzhe is another harshly rated player on FIFA with a rating of 48 and a meagre potential of only 54. His market value is at €70 thousand, but he can also be bought at €123 thousand under the release clause from Guangzhou FC. His highest attribute is jumping, which comes at 66.

Namgyal Bhutia (Position RB – Overall 48)

Another addition from India is Bhutia, the right-back who currently plays for Bengaluru FC. His statline is actually not as bad as his rating of 48. For example, Bhutia has more than a few 70-plus attributes and even one 80 attribute in balance. His movement is decent, but he does lack everywhere else; hence, he collects only a rating of 48. Bhutia can grow into a slightly better player with a potential of 55. He has a market value of €90 thousand.

Huo Liang (Position RB – Overall 49)

Huo Liang of Meizhou Hakka in China is certainly at this peak, according to FIFA 23. However, with a rating of 49, he also only holds a potential of 49. Though he has several attributes in the 60s, including jumping at 62 and sprint speed with stamina at 61. Liang’s market value is tiny at €30 thousand but does also have a release clause at €47 thousand.

Wu Junjie (Position LB – Overall 46)

Again from China we have Wu Junjie at a rating of 46 and a potential of 58 (not too shabby). The Guangzhou City player is 19 and holds his best attribute in strength which comes in at 64. We’d love to know what he thinks of his statline. Junjie is valued at a solid €110 thousand.

Sandip Mandi (Position LB – Overall 47)

Another low-rated player from India is Sandip Mandi who plays for Jamshedpur FC. He has an overall rating of 47 but a solid potential of 58. His strongest attributes are in power and movement columns. Specifically speaking, his strongest solo attribute is jumping at 70, with strength coming at 67 in second place.

Nathan-Dylan Saliba (Position CM – Overall 46)

Saliba is rated harshly low on the game and a little odd, considering they put his potential to 63, which is not bad at all considering he’d fit in League 2 football in England. The Canadian, though, is only 18 and currently valued on FIFA 23 at €120 thousand. His most vital attributes are in movement, in which he reaches 68 in balance, 65 in agility, and 62 in acceleration. However, his most critical attribute is jumping, which comes at 70.

Zhou Zheng (Position CM – Overall 46)

Another 46-rated player is Zhou Zheng of Tianjin Jinmen Tiger FC in China. Unlike Saliba or others, though, Zheng only has a potential of 51, which is pretty low. Luckily for Zheng, he has some playable pace with an acceleration attribute at 70 and sprint speed at 65. Zheng’s market value is at €70 thousand.

Zhao Ziye (Position RW – Overall 46)

Zhao Ziye of Hebei FC is rated at 45 with a promising potential of 61. Ziye’s most assertive attributes are acceleration at 67 and balance at 66. His market value is €110 thousand, but he can be bought for €239 thousand if you’re looking to break his release clause.

Darren Collins (Position RM / ST – Overall 47)

Our first Irish addition to the list is Darren Collins, who plays on the wing and on the striker position for Sligo Rovers. With a potential of 56, he isn’t rated too nicely but has some solid attributes within the movement. His most potent attribute is acceleration at 69, followed by sprint speed at 68. His market value is €110 thousand.

Zhang Junye (Position LM – Overall 47)

Zhang Junye is our first LM player on the list. He is rated 47 with a potential of 53. Junye currently plays for the Chinese club Shenzhen FC. His highest attribute is in balance at 63. His market value, like others, is at €70 thousand.

Sweden Fernandes (Position LW / RW – Overall 48)

Another sub-50-rated player is Sweden Fernandes of Hyderabad FC in India. The player possesses several attributes in the 60s, all in the movement column. Fernande’s current market value is at €110 thousand and he has the potential to reach 57 overall.

Abdulrahman Anwar (Position ST – Overall 46)

With only a 46 rating, the 16-year-old out of Al Batin is a little harshly rated, considering he does have a 62 potential within the game. Anwar’s market value is set at €110 thousand though he can also be acquired through a release clause of €273 thousand. Anwar is 18, so age is on his side regarding his growth on future FIFA editions.

The Worst Starting XI on FIFA 23

  • GK – Devansh Dabas (Overall 46)
  • RB – Namgyal Bhutia (Overall 48)
  • CB – Aqeel Al Dhafeeri (Overall 46)
  • CB – Daithí McCallion (Overall 47)
  • LB – Wu Junjue (Overall 46)
  • RM – Zhao Ziye (Overall 46)
  • CM – Zhou Zheng (Overall 46)
  • CM – Nathan-Dylan Saliba (Overall 46)
  • LM – Zhang Junye (Overall 47)
  • ST – Abdulrahman Anwar (Overall 46)
  • ST – Darren Collins (Overall 47)

Beck Pulls Out of Arcade Fire North American Tour

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
Beck Pulls Out of Arcade Fire North American Tour

Beck is the latest artist to drop out of Arcade Fire’s tour. The group’s North American tour in support WE is set to kick off in Washington, DC later this month, with the Haitian band Boukman Eksperyans replacing Beck as the opening act. As of this writing, there has been no official statement from Beck or Arcade Fire regarding the decision.

The news arrives less than two months after Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct by four people. Butler denied the allegations against him, maintaining that all of the sexual encounters were consensual.

Feist, who was scheduled to open the European leg of Arcade Fire’s tour, withdrew after performing at the band’s first two shows in Dublin. “I’m imperfect and I will navigate this decision imperfectly, but what I’m sure of is the best way to take care of my band and crew and my family is to distance myself from this tour, not this conversation,” she wrote at the time. Boukman Eksperyans then joined the band on their remaining European dates.

Best Free Kick Tackers in FIFA 23

Abbie Wilson
-
0
Best Free Kick Tackers in FIFA 23

There is beauty in free-kick goals and many ways to score in FIFA 23. In this guide, we’ll look at the best-rated free kick takers in FIFA, and you should consider signing them if you’re looking for a dedicated FK taker in your team.

James Ward-Prowse (FK Accuracy – 94)

Southampton’s Ward-Prowse is arguably the best free-kick taker in the game, with an astounding free-kick accuracy of 94. He also possesses 82 shot power and 93 curve alongside the coveted FK specialist player speciality. Ward-Prowse is currently 27 years old, plays in CM, and has a market value of €29.5 million, though he can be bought for around €58.3 million under the release clause. He has a real face scan and an overall rating of 82.

Lionel Messi (FK Accuracy – 93)

Messi needs no introduction. The argued GOAT messiah has a superb free-kick accuracy of 93 within FIFA 23. Alongside that, Messi has a shot power of 86 and a curve attribute of 93. Moreover, his finishing is a mighty 90. While he is 35, he still has a market value of €54 million though he can be acquired for a release cause cost of €99.9 million. Messi currently plays for PSG and is rated a well-deserved rating of 91.

Dani Parejo (FK Accuracy – 90)

Another player in his 30s on this list is the Spanish Dani Parejo, who currently plays for Villarreal. Parejo has a free-kick accuracy of 90 with a curve attribute of 88. He also has 81 show power with 83 finishing — excellent stats for a centre-midfielder. Within the game, he has a real face scan and can be bought for around €42 million. Parejo’s release clause is set at €88.2 million, and his overall rating and potential are 86.

Ager Aketxe (FK Accuracy – 89)

Aketxe is no newbie to the free-kick, having played professional since 2011. Currently playing for the Spanish side Eibar, Aketxe is a specialist free-kick taker and possesses a free-kick accuracy of 89 with a shot power of 88. Alongside that, he has 72 finishing with an 84 curve. Luckily, he also has a real face scan and can be bought for €3.8 million under his release clause. Aketxe is also a superb long-shot taker, meaning you don’t need to be close and sweaty for him to score.

Lucas Zelarayán (FK Accuracy – 89)

Argentinian-born Zelarayán currently represents Armenia internationally and has done so since 2018. The Columbus Crew attacker is 30 years old and retains great free-kick ability within and outside the game. Attribute-wise, he is rated 89 on FK accuracy with a shot power of 79. His curve attribute is currently at 82, with a long shot rating of 84. As an experienced player on the field, he can be bought for around €17 million and primarily plays in the CAM position, meaning he can ping goals from outside the box quite nicely. Zelarayán also has a real face scan within FIFA 23.

Paulo Dybala (FK Accuracy – 88)

Former Ronaldo teammate Dybala is another powerful player on free kicks. He currently plays in Seria A for Mourinho’s Roma, who won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022. As a free-kick specialist, he possesses an attribute of 88 for FK accuracy and a shot power of 84. He also has a strong curve attribute which is at 89, and is complimented by his long shot rating of 89. Dybala is not the cheapest of players, with an overall rating of 86, currently having a transfer value of around €69.5 million. Like others on the list, he has a release clause. This comes at €118.2 million — a little pricey.

Cristiano Biraghi (FK Accuracy – 88)

The first defender on our list is Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi, the left-back with an overall rating of 80 in FIFA 23. The 29-year-old currently has a free-kick accuracy attribute of 88 with a shot power of 82. His curve attribute is set at 79 with a long shot attribute of 80. Biraghi is a solid left-back and can be bought for around €18.5 million, though he is also listed with a release clause of €31.5 million. Biraghi has no real face scan — sadly.

Neymar Jr (FK Accuracy – 87)

Neymar is beloved in Brazil and among PSG fans. A player who still seems to have hopes to achieve more, he has achieved great status within the football community, and free-kicks are one of many reasons. As a free-kick taker, Neymar has rated an FK accuracy of 87 with a curve of 88. Moreover, he has an attribute of 81 for long shot and 79 for shot power. Neymar is 30 but still highly pricey, with a release clause of €184.1 million. However, he can be negotiated for less if you want, as his transfer value is €99.5 million.

Gareth Bale (FK Accuracy – 87)

Welsh star and now MLS starter for Los Angeles FC Gareth Bale is no stranger to the old free-kick, having scored plenty in his wild career for Spurs and Real Madrid. With a rating of 87 for FK accuracy, there is nothing to shrug at as he also possesses a phenomenal curve attribute at 91. Moreover, his long shots are rated 86, with a shot power of 90. Potentially making him the most exciting free-kick threat in the game. Bale can be bought for around €20.5 million, though does have a release clause for €30.8 million. As an 81-rated player in his early 30s — it’s not too shabby.

Enis Bardhi (FK Accuracy – 87)

Enis Bardhi of Trabzonspor is another excellent free-kick taker on the game, with an FK accuracy rating of 87. He also possesses 87 in curve and 84 in shot power attributes. As expected, he holds the FK specialist speciality in the game. Luckily, Bardhi is only valued at €8 million but also has a release clause for €15.2 million. His overall rating and potential are set at 76, so if you’re managing a top-tier team, you’ll likely have him as an impact substitute. He also has a real face scan.

Marc Schnatterer (FK Accuracy 82)

Schnatterer isn’t particularly a majestic football player, but he can hit a free kick. With plenty of experience and an overall rating of 68, we put his on his list mostly due to affordability, as his market value is €400 thousand.

Methyl Ethel and Miya Folick Share Cover of Stereolab’s ‘Brakhage’

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
Methyl Ethel and Miya Folick Share Cover of Stereolab’s ‘Brakhage’

Last month, Methyl Ethel’s Jake Webb teamed up with Hatchie for a rendition of Sophie B. Hawkins’ ‘Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover’. Today, he’s back with another cover, enlisting Los Angeles singer-songwriter Miya Folick for a version of Stereolab’s 1997 track ‘Brakhage’. Listen to it below.

On his Bandcamp page, Webb explained:

I had the great opportunity to see Stereolab play in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. They’re such a great band, an all-time favourite of mine and many others too. For this reason, I really wanted to do something completely different when covering Brakhage. I started off by replicating the song (which is basically two chords the whole time) in a basic way to send to Miya to record her vocals remotely. I’d been listening to a lot of music by the composer Alexander Scriabin and so borrowed this incredible rhythm from one of his piano sonatas for the bass line. I wanted the groove to have an uneven/confusing downbeat, so once this was all together, the rest was just a lot of experimentation. I had the idea of putting some really abrasive classic rock ‘n’ roll riff in there, I can’t really remember why, maybe as a joke. So I just recorded, with a microphone resting on a table in my kitchen, myself playing some white stripes rip off guitar riff with a shitty nylon string guitar and singing it at the same time a la George Benson or something. Once some very obnoxious Ableton distortion plugin was on there, the whole sound came together. The final touches were my references to Stan Brakhage, the eponymous filmmaker of the song. I made the sound of a film projector with white noise and a semi modular synth, a bell tolling and used the recording of my baby as a lazy homage to the artist and the themes most often represented in his films. Miya reading out all of the items literally surrounding her while recording her vocals is another way to use the obvious material as representation. I don’t know why, but I just sort of became interested in using ideas that I’d usually stay away from for fear of being criticised. Miya gave a really wonderful performance of the vocal too, her sweet and nuanced delivery is so perfectly suited and provides a brilliant counterpoint to all the buffoonery squeezed into the song by yours truly. I really love it!

Folick added: “I’m such a fan of Methyl Ethel and of Stereolab, so I was really excited to get to work on this song. I think lyrically, it captures the essence of a fear that I carry every day. All this stuff! Too much stuff. It’s hard not to hear this song as a statement about consumerism, which is both a spiritual and environmental problem. Even more so today than when the song was released in 1997. It’s a good and necessary reminder that we have to do more to curb our consumption, to take better care of our planet.”

Methyl Ethel released his latest album, Are You Haunted?, back in February, while Folick dropped her 2007 EP last month. Read our interview with Jake Webb about the inspirations behind Are You Haunted? and check out a track-by-track breakdown of 2007.

Liv.e Unveils Video for New Single ‘Ghost’

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
Liv.e Unveils Video for New Single ‘Ghost’

LA-based, Dallas-raised artist Liv.e has returned with a new single titled ‘Ghost’. It’s the first preview of a forthcoming album, details of which have yet to be announced. Check out a self-directed video for the track below.

“The concept for the visuals mirrors the energy of the song and my mind state when I wrote it,” Liv.e explained in a press release. “‘Ghost’ was made in observation of myself going through the stages of grief after a major loss.”

Gojira Share New Song ‘Our Time Is Now’

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
Gojira Share New Song ‘Our Time Is Now’

Gojira have released a new track called ‘Our Time Is Now’. Featured as part of EA Sports’ NHL 23 soundtrack, it marks the French prog-metal outfit’s first new music since the release of their album Fortitude last year. Listen to it below.

“This song goes out to all the fighters out there sparking a light in a dark world,” the band’s Joe Duplantier said in a statement. “Show that you are part of a change! If you care about something meaningful to you and your community. If you are standing for a cause, if you show compassion and solidarity for the ones whose rights are taken away, if you’re in a war defending your inherent rights or fighting against deforestation, if you’re standing for animal rights, human rights, you are the lightning bolt, the spark that will shape our world. Your time is now! Our time is now!”

Duplantier added: “Rest In Peace young Masha Amini. She was killed in Teheran for not wearing her hijab ‘properly’ by the ‘morality police’ and Rest In Peace all victims of brutalities during the protests that followed her death. We support the women of Iran in their fight, for taking a stand against oppression!”

FIDLAR Release New Song ‘Sand on the Beach’

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
FIDLAR Release New Song ‘Sand on the Beach’

Southern California punk band FIDLAR are back with a new single, ‘Sand on the Beach’. It follows ‘FSU’, which came out earlier this year and marked their first original music since the release of Almost Free in 2019. They’ll both appear a forthcoming EP that’s set to arrive in early 2023. Check out the new track below, alongside a video directed by longtime collaborator Ryan Baxley.

Watch Pusha T Perform ‘Just So You Remember’ on ‘Seth Meyers’

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
Watch Pusha T Perform ‘Just So You Remember’ on ‘Seth Meyers’

Pusha T ran through ‘Just So You Remember’ during his appearance on last night’s episode of Late Night With Seth Meyerson. Watch his performance below.

‘Just So You Remember’ taken from the rapper’s latest album, It’s Almost Dry, which arrived back in April via G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam. Earlier this year, Pusha T brought his single ‘Diet Coet’ to Colbert.

Robbie Coltrane Passes Away at 72

Samuel Dunsiger
-
0
Robbie Coltrane Passes Away at 72

Beloved Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, known for the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises, passed away this morning at the age of 72.

He died at a hospital in Scotland, although an immediate cause of death is not known. Coltrane’s agent confirmed the news today to BBC, Deadline and The Guardian.

Coltrane was most known for playing the gentle giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films. Throughout the series, Coltrane’s Hagrid was a fatherly figure and close friend to Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter.

The news of Coltrane’s passing today hit me today as I was among many fans who grew up alongside his warm portrayal of Hagrid. Earlier this year, Coltrane had reunited with his castmates on a Harry Potter reunion special, which aired on HBO Max.

I also fondly remember the actor from the James Bond series as well, as Coltrane played KGB agent-turned-Russian mafia head and Bond ally Valentin Dimitrovich Zukovsky in Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough.

A beloved character as well, he also had various performances in films such as Mona Lisa, Ocean’s Twelve and Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Henry V.

Coltrane was born in 1950 in Rutherglen, Scotland as Anthony Macmillan. When he pursued acting in his early 20s, he took the stage name Coltrane as a tribute to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

At first, he primarily focused on British theatre and comedy. He first appeared in a theatre production of John Byrne’s The Slab Boys at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. He then appeared in The Comic Strip Presents, a comedy TV series in which also he co-starred with his eventual Harry Potter co-star Dawn French (who played the Fat Lady in Harry Potter). Coltrane also starred in comedy sketch show Alfresco.

He was also known for playing forensic psychologist Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald in the British crime drama series Cracker. This won him the British Television Award for Best Actor for three consecutive years.

During HBO Max’s Harry Potter reunion special, Coltrane moved people to tears while he was reminiscing about the film franchise. “The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children,” he said while he was tearing up. “So you could be watching it in 50 year’s time, easily. I’ll not be here sadly, but Hagrid will, yes.”

Coltrane’s passing makes this comment even more surreal.

Coltrane is survived by his two children.

Wild Pink’s John Ross on Confronting Illness, Doubling Down on Earnest, Expansive Music, and Piecing Together ‘ILYSM’

Konstantinos Pappis
-
0
Wild Pink’s John Ross on Confronting Illness, Doubling Down on Earnest, Expansive Music, and Piecing Together ‘ILYSM’

John Ross had already entered the writing process for his latest Wild Pink album with a renewed perspective. He wasn’t interested in replicating the shimmering heartland rock of 2021’s A Billion Little Lights, which earned widespread acclaim and exemplified the kind of leveling up that’s hard to continuously keep chasing in music; instead, he wanted to experiment with more organic and unconventional sounds, to embrace an open mindset that would lead to fresh, exciting ideas. Many of the motifs that have cropped up throughout his discography, like ghosts and love and dreams, were already swirling in his mind. Then, halfway through the writing of the songs, Ross was diagnosed with cancer.

The phenomenal ILYSM, which is out today on Royal Mountain, avoids being exclusively about cancer but reflects the ways in which it imbued his life with urgency and meaning. Ross went on to record the album with a host of collaborators, including co-producers Justin Pizzoferrato and Peter Silberman (The Antlers), bassist Arden Yonkers, drummer Dan Keegan, and pianist David Moore of Bing & Ruth, as well as enlisting contributions from Julien Baker, J Mascis, Ryley Walker, Ratboys’ Julia Steiner, Samantha Crain, and Yasmin Williams, among others. And while the sound of the album is as lush and full-bodied as you would expect, there’s a surprising heft and at times deafening beauty to the arrangements, which are balanced out by moments of understated candor and intimacy.

Ross’ dreamlike lyricism, meanwhile, oscillates between wonderment and confusion, burrowing inward as much as it marvels at the world. He’s always been adept at combining the profound with the quotidian, and he does so here while flitting between a state of blurry disorientation and stark lucidity. There’s earnest simplicity and bleak humour, jarring transitions and quietly anthemic choruses, whispered confessions that land like a gut punch. Yet as deeply moving and transcendent as the album can be, Ross doesn’t push things too far in either direction, finding genuine revelations in the vast space in between.

We caught up with John Ross on the eve of ILYSM‘s release to talk about embracing earnestness, the writing and recording process behind the new album, traveling, and more.

Does playing these songs live give them a new weight for you, or does it release some of the weight that’s kind of been attached to them?

I’d say it’s more the latter. These were not songs that we had toured with before – we kind of figured it out in the studio, so it’s cool to rework some of them. Like, the song ‘ILYSM’ sounds pretty different now live than it does in the studio. It’s just been a really fun experience to bring these songs into a live setting. They’re probably a little more fun to play live, honestly.

How are you feeling about the response to the new material?

It’s pretty early still, but it seems very positive. Just encouraged, at least by what I’ve heard feedback-wise from the singles. There were times where I second-guessed making a record that dealt with illness, but it’s generally been pretty positive.

This is your fourth album, so it’s not the first time that you’ve gone through this vulnerable process of putting out music and being on the receiving end of that kind of support. But does it make you feel more nervous, to release an album about love and obsession and to potentially have this kind of fervent emotion echoed back to you? To have people love and obsess over it in that way?

Yeah, I definitely feel like apprehensive about that. It makes me nervous sometimes to write music that’s kind of earnest, you know? I feel like it just opens you up to criticism in a pretty brutal way sometimes.

It sounds like you’re less afraid to be earnest on this record.

Yeah, totally. I think that on this record, I couldn’t really deal in half measures, just because of the nature of some of the stuff, the way that I could with previous records where it’s maybe obscuring some lyrics or making them more cryptic. I kind of had to not do that this time and double down, which was nerve-wracking, honestly. It still is.

It’s definitely not an easy process to embrace that fully, no matter the circumstances. It’s still human nature to feel apprehensive about coming off as overly sincere or self-serious.

Yeah. I feel like I’m walking the line with this being pretty self-serious, again, because of what it’s about. I try to temper that with lighter moments, or maybe funnier moments in the record.

There’s a dynamic between humour and darkness on the record, but you don’t seem to be using it as a kind of armour. I’m thinking of the line “I’m just showing up every day like Cal Ripken, Jr.,” for example.

There’s at least an attempt at some gallows humour there, for sure.

Were you conscious about the heaviness of some of the things that you’re talking about and wanted to counteract that, or was it just how it came out when you were writing?

It’s definitely just the way it came out at the time. And that’s the kind of thing where I realized later how I was feeling – without getting into too much detail, I’ve never really felt the way that I did when in the worst parts of what was going on with my health. So moments like that just came out very organically.

Even though you were diagnosed with cancer during the writing process, you’ve said you didn’t necessarily set out to make an album about cancer. Lyrically, it seems like some of the emotional processing is happening on more of a subconscious level. Are you more aware now of how that experience influenced the direction of these songs?

I’ve always felt like I, in some cases, understand the songs and lyrics months later, and I think that that’s definitely starting to happen now. They feel a little different to me.

Do you feel that more strongly than you have in the past?

I think that this record, at least with regard to illness, when I do talk about it on the record, it’s pretty direct in my mind. I understood it at the time that I wrote it, it wasn’t ambiguous or anything like that. I couldn’t point to a lyric or a song off the top of my head that was ambiguous.

I’m not sure what your songwriting process was like before, but did a lot of the lyrics for ILYSM come out in a kind of stream-of-consciousness style?

In general, the lyric writing process takes the longest time. I think that maybe describing it as a collage more than stream-of-consciousness could be more accurate just because it does take a long time, and the thoughts are coming at different times about a bunch of different ideas.

Does that collage-like approach appeal to you musically as well?

Yeah, definitely. I think more so than previous records, where it just sounds like a band in a room – or not, maybe, in the case of the last record – but I just wanted to use a lot of disparate sounds to create collages at times. It’s a very fun way to turn a song on its head.

Were you surprised by any of the musical ideas or transitions that came up while you were experimenting? How did you determine what to keep and what held back from what you were trying to convey?

I would say that working with the band created a lot of opportunities to bring the songs away from the demo phase into what they became, particularly with David Moore, the piano player. There’s just no way to know how the songs would end up before we ended up playing together in the studio. We had never even met before then, so I think that just going in with an open mind about where the sounds were going to end up made it very easy, then, after the principal recording was done, to go fuck around with them afterwards, before mixing.

You’ve said that you didn’t want the album to sound too polished or too grandiose, but I feel like there’s a fullness and depth to both the more accessible songs and the more experimental moments. What do you think the difference is there, between something sounding full and expansive rather than just big? Was bigness, whatever it means for you, something you wanted to avoid?

I think I associate bigness, at least with regard to my songs, as being conventional song structures and kind of anthemic-sounding, but it doesn’t mean that a sound can’t still have a pretty lush arrangement and feel very full. I think that what I wanted to avoid was just some of the more conventional song tropes that I was working with on the previous record. I still love making big-sounding, full arrangements.

It makes me think about how, when I feel kind of existential, I don’t just think about how big things are. I feel like it’s just as much about everything as it is about nothing, and the space between those two, which to me is the space that this record occupies.

That’s amazing to hear. That’s really insightful to me. Maybe to your point, I like to write about mundane things, and I think sometimes when it works, it can be profound, and exist in that space between something and nothing.

Listening to your previous records, I also get that feeling of the beauty in everyday life, or this kind of existential wonder. Was that less than ideal and more just something that felt real this time?

Yeah, I think so. I think it was unavoidable. Making a record going through all that shit – whatever I ended up with was going to be more real to me, you know. It wasn’t something that I set out to do, it just kind of ended up that way.

You use ghosts and aliens as metaphors on this record, and you’ve cited Signs and the show Surviving Death as inspirations. What appeals to you about exploring love through mystical imagery?

Starting with love as an idea was pretty arbitrary. The movie Signs and that Netflix show were pretty early inspirations when I started writing this record, and I think kicking around ideas about love and obsession was just a jumping-off point. I can’t say why it started there except that it just did; it started with thinking about those things.

I get why you would get curious about that connection between love, or being loved, and being haunted. That’s maybe another space you explore.

Definitely. And I think that ghosts are pretty evergreen stuff – ghosts are in tunes of mine from the first record, even.

At this specific moment in time, what do you love about being in Wild Pink that you never expected to – not just expected to be real, but to appreciate so much?

That’s a great question. I mean, this is like a no-brainer, but honestly, traveling. I just really enjoy that part of it. Making records is my favourite thing in the world to do as well. Those aren’t unexpected, though.

What do you love about traveling?

I guess I really enjoy the newness of it. Just starting each day not knowing exactly how it’s going to go. It’s like the opposite of mundane, which really fires me up.

Do you avoid writing when you’re on the road?

I do a lot of writing on the road, actually. Which is kind of ironic, because we’re talking about writing about mundane things. For some reason, it’s actually very helpful to be out of my comfort zone.

I guess the thing about traveling is that it doesn’t feel mundane, but there are certain aspects of it that seem mundane. There’s more to the feeling than what’s on the surface, and maybe that’s where the inspiration lies, when you’re, like, sitting at a coffee shop waiting to get back out there.

Yeah. I think that, at least with regard to traveling on tour, there’s a cycle to having the most fun ever, playing a great show like last night [in Boston, MA], and then waking up the next day and sitting in a coffee shop and then playing another show that night. That kind of extreme up and down – you can find a little bit of everything in that, the extremes of mundane and excitement.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Wild Pink’s ILYSM is out now via Royal Mountain Records.

1...951952953...1,730Page 952 of 1,730

Quick Access

Our Culture

Helpful

© 2025 Our Culture Mag Limited. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 2/1/2025) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 2/1/2025). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Our Culture Mag Limited.