Concert Review: Wyland Have Grown At Rough Trade
Wyland feel like the easiest people in unease. They are an exuberant batch of friends making chill, electro -rock that calmly approaches people’s inner chaos. It is not easy to accept you are flawed, but at Rough Trade, Wyland turned acceptance into a celebration. For the many musicians that are picking depression as a sung theme, Wyland feel wiser in approach.
When we think of fear, we think of it as a killer of strength, but, for Wyland, it is the revealer of weakness. The panic and anxious pressure you feel in your chest, when you think you are failing at life, love, and being yourself, is not your heart dying, but, instead, it is its plea for you to be reborn. Wyland take this dynamic and put it into their stage presence scoping through old tracks and introducing new music, from “Nowhere Now” to “Lost Boy,” to play like a band’s version of a heart. It was as if they became the representation of what happens when a few good people, that like each other, create a group/ singular, artistic heartbeat. The result is a band that has grown A LOT in the past few years.
It is always crazy to see bands grow in their deserve of fame and accolades. Wyland’s time in Ireland has honed their sound and transferred their folksier rock roots into electro, rainbow bridges. Before they made you move, but back then there was a feeling that it was the inner motions of your soul that swayed more than your feet. Since I saw Wyland, years ago at Arlene’s Grocery, they have amplified their powerful style and sound, tenfold, to prove concerts are a needed, physical distraction for a soul’s dissatisfaction. Though it may seem strange to say that a voice singing to being heartbroken made you forget your heartbreaks, as Ryan Sloan and Ariella Mastroianni sang, that is what happened.
Ryan and Arielle’s voices, together, are like strings being knitted together to wrap your mind with warmer thoughts. Arielle’s voice feels like a seashell; somehow echoing the ocean. Meanwhile, lead singer Ryan Sloan continues annunciating lyrics with a purpose. THIS MAN IS A ROCK STAR! He knows how to shine like like flames emanating emotional heal. He sings through verses, hooks, and melodies with an urgency that makes you say this music needs to be heard, which made everyone at Rough Trade feel like Wyland was on the cusp of their biggest, most prosperous career point yet. For More Information On Wyland Click Here.
