Wut: Mingling With The Thorns  LP   (HHBTM Records)

Bio: 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.