A lot of focus has been put on the fact that Wild Party is “a new band from the middle of Texas”. But though they hail from San Antonio, a city best known musically as a Tejano hotbed and the birthplace of the Butthole Surfers, Wild Party’s music is a nationally and internationally-savvy blend of indie-pop and dance-ready guitar rock that will appeal to fans far and wide.
Wild Party’s debut EP All Nighter is a tight four-song blend of precise songwriting, well-placed harmonies, and a thumping pulse that hits the ground running and barely lets up. Opener “When I Get Older” is a dastardly catchy track destined to land on plenty of summer mixtapes, and lead singer Lincoln Kriefels’ pleasingly woozy voice swerves and swaggers all over “Out Right” like a young Brandon Flowers. The production on “Take My Advice” gets a little busy — like a synth-heavy Phoenix track played on top of Vampire Weekend — but its catchy chorus easily makes up for the crowded composition.
From start to finish, All Nighter is a good warm-weather EP full of clean songwriting with an undeniable craft to it. With it, Wild Party has established itself as a band to keep an eye on. They aren’t reinventing the wheel, but as their name promises, the party is pretty wild.