“The Wildes sound something like a Gram Parsons-fronted Bad Seeds – gospel tinged, blues driven and with a dash of gothic-Americana imagery…” – Adam Kristiansen, Beat Magazine

From the very first line of title track and opener BALLAD OF A YOUNG MARRIED MAN, it was clear that The Wildes’ debut album was a record unlike any other produced recently in either the country or rock and roll worlds.

Proudly wearing the influences of the old masters on their sleeves, The Wildes have emerged bearing an authenticity rarely (if ever) heard in Australian country music circles and scarcely matched in more fashionable genres.

When the disc was released earlier this year it quickly gained support from influential community stations such as Triple R, PBS and 4ZZZ and even flirted with more widespread coverage from Triple J, Radio National and local ABC Stations.

Local and even American critics were unanimous in their praise for the disc, each picking up on the strong narratives and understated production of an album variously described as ‘alt-country’, ‘gothic country’, ‘country blues’ or even ‘rock n roll’.

The Wildes’ slightly chaotic, ranch-party style live show garnered rave reviews as they launched the disc up and down the east coast, following their tour with a main-stage appearance on the final day of The Gympie Muster – quite an invitation for a band that had not even existed twelve months prior!

In August a music video appeared on YouTube and was quickly added to rotation on Foxtel’s Country Music Channel. Again The Wildes bucked the trend. Whilst made-up and airbrushed country music stars and glamorous extras appear in almost every other video, this young Melbourne band appear looking like death warmed up in a filmic colonial shoot-out that almost serves as a period prologue to The Dead Weather’s ‘Treat me like your mother ‘ clip (which coincidentally was released just a fortnight after The Wildes’ video).

Now The Wildes are back in the studio, beginning pre-production for their second disc and making selected appearances around the country – playing alongside acts that vary from art-rock to almost-mainstream country.

What the press have to say:

“Brilliant alternative country from Australia’s deep south”
TIM RITCHIE, RADIO NATIONAL

“A contender for album of the year! – 5 Stars”
JASON WALKER, JB MAG

ALBUM OF THE WEEK – Radio National
ALBUM OF THE YEAR FINALIST – Radio National

“Ballad of a Young Married Man will come as an epiphany to non-believers!”
CATHERINE GALE, THE ADVOCATE, HOBART

“The Wildes have hit the ground running, rolling, bouncing and twisting, releasing a debut album worthy of some serious praise”
SAM FELL, INPRESS MAGAZINE, MELBOURNE

“One of the albums of the year”
DAVE GRIFFITHS, MEDIA SEARCH MUSIC AND FASHION

“An eclectic, eccentric and exceptional collection of songs”
DENISE TORENBEEK, COUNTRY UPDATE MAGAZINE

“…a stunning CD of home-grown country story telling”
ESPY LYN, THE DWARF

“The Wildes pay homage to their influences (Cash, Jennings, Cave, Wilco), but retain originality and depth that is beyond a band of its short tenure”
JESS WHITE, SOULSHINE

“This is brash, exciting and country at its best”
JOHN WOLFE, CAPITAL NEWS

“Now due to The Wildes, an Americana/alt.country band from Victoria, Australia, I am fascinated with roots music as interpreted in the land of Oz”
BARON LANE, TWANG NATION USA

“Lachlan Bryan’s tremulous croon sweeps through the record, each track telling its own story…while the up-tempo tracks bear with them a spirit of optimism and are downright fun, the true treasures are the darker, heavier moments”
TIME OFF, BRISBANE

“This is music to stroke your spine and shake your shoulders”
LIAM CASEY, DRUM MEDIA, SYDNEY

“Lead singer and songwriter Lachlan Bryan ensures his narratives are not buried in the drums and guitar grunge of so many peers”
DAVID DAWSON, BEAT MAGAZINE, MELBOURNE