Wotts – garden (2023)
From their spot on our Keeping It Real feature in 2020 to 2021’s ‘Before’ and 2022’s ‘Domino’, indie-pop duo Wotts has kept our eyes and ears on their music. Hailing from Canada, Jayem (vocals and multi-instrumentalist) and Ricky 100 (guitar and bass) embrace a nostalgic 80s sound regularly tossing us back to the days of shoulder pads, big hair and wistful pop vibes. In fact, the lads cite The Beatles as one of their influences slathering their melodies with a charming, infectious and intoxicating veil of sound – I mean Wotts slathers their sound, not The Beatles. Although John, Paul, George and Ringo were pretty intoxicating.
Along with their constant appearance on The Other Side Reviews (which we really enjoy), Wotts has reached ears across the globe with features in Iggy Magazine, Mystic Sons, The Luna Collective and CBC Radio. The latest addition to their discography is the single ‘garden’.
Joining their songs ‘blue’ and ‘wheel’ as the titular track from Wotts’ upcoming EP garden, the lads head in a new direction with the new single. An 80s flavour continues to exist in the song with strong synth-pop tones to the track, however, sprinkles of rock burn bright in the cheerful melody. Ricky 100’s smooth guitar licks add a hint of classic rock amidst the soothing keys enveloped by Jayem’s hushed vocals.
Along with ‘blue’ and ‘wheel’, ‘garden’ touches on a profound issue – the “almost duty-like obligation to create”. Falling into their existential exploration of life, mortality and everything else, the pair prove their singles are as intricate and complex as they are light and toe-tapping. Jayem explains: “We usually like to keep things light but for whatever reason we had all these pent-up feelings about life and living that were bursting to get out. Maybe some people will be able to relate, maybe not. All I know is it felt good to get some of this stuff off my chest…”
For more from Wotts, check out their Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
