Orson Wilds' "dec 19" Is What Happens When the Party's Over
Orson Wilds, photo by Calm Elliott-Armstrong
By Emily Herbein
Toronto-based eclectic rock group Orson Wilds, fronted by Eric Reid and Brianna Bordihn, continues to team up with my fave dude Will Yip on their latest single “dec 19” just in time for summer. The high-energy, rock-centric track features layers of emphatic, shouty vocals, synthetic interludes, and guitar-heavy backbeats. Their signature sound has been tough to pin down, but that’s exactly what I love the most about them. Their previous singles, “Stand Up” and “Mothers Daughters,” have an undeniably anthemic, nostalgic feel to them, while “dec 19” is a fast-paced, stream-of-consciousness, too-much-on-your-mind, ready-to-explode moment that if you blink, it’s gone. They’ve shown off their depth in stripped-down versions of “Stand Up” and “Mothers Daughters,” and this song is a completely different look at what they’re capable of. I’ve said it before, but this band has a musical chemistry and gutting sense of lyricism that I still have yet to find elsewhere.
The band’s overall style, especially in the accompanying “dec 19” video, drips with sultry 1970’s party chaos, like the most idyllic of acid trips. This is a song to feel alive to. It’s a movie montage catching your best and worst moments. It’s the soundtrack to a life, lived. I don’t know how else to express the humanness of this song, but it captures the duality of these bombastic highs and lows in a way that I feel like only they could have done. The level of production and honed-in electro-pop that this song brings to their repertoire when placed next to their other releases is a level up in both style and energy. This is a song to drive to, fast, during hot nights when you have nowhere specific to be and you feel the itch to do something chaotically out of character. The song also illustrates the pros and cons of doing just that. This is the soundtrack that plays in your mind when the party’s over, but you’re still reeling. It’s a level of out-of-control urgency that only hits you in those quiet moments where you’re alone with your thoughts and you’re fixating on how things could have played out.
Mixed by Neil Avron, mastered by Emily Lazar, and produced by Will Yip, Orson Wilds is on an up that I can’t even fathom. The rest of their LP is due soon, but this is a fantastic holdover until then. Check out the video for “dec 19” below, directed by the band’s Eric Reid.