Wild Sun Gear Up for Elliott Smith Tribute Album with ‘Rigby’ EP

Rhode Island’s favorite alt-rock trio Wild Sun is gaining traction by leaps and bounds, as their collaborative effort for upcoming Elliott Smith Tribute Album titled “Say Yes” featuring Amanda Palmer, Waxahatchee, Jesu/Sun Kil Moon, J Mascis and more hits pages of Rolling Stone, SPIN, Consequence of Sound and Pitchfork ahead of its October 14, 2016 release date. Singer, Glenn Kendzia exclaims, “The Elliott Smith tribute album is a huge honor to be a part of. Elliott is one of my favorite songwriters ever, and his writing is extremely influential to me in his candor and honesty.” He continues, “The song we covered, ‘Easy Way Out,’ is one of those songs that hit me so hard the first time I heard it, that I listened over and over to it and believed it was somehow written for exactly how I felt at the time I first heard it. I never shook that relationship with the song, and when we we’re asked to be a part of this album, that song was the one I had to do.”

Wild Sun is not the kind of band to sit around and wait for an October release, however. Striking while the iron is hot, they premiere their brand new Rigby EP (listen below), out today via American Laundromat Records!  A follow-up to their critically-acclaimed album Little Truths, released last September, the new EP is available now on all digital platforms including including Spotify, iTunes, and Bandcamp.

The band describes the new material as “noticeably louder” in closer reflection of their live show experience. In order to achieve this while recording, they used all of their live show gear, crammed the stacks of amps into a live room and turned them turned way up. Glenn explains the new production direction, “We tracked the songs with Mike Moschetto (bassist of Aviator), who has recorded several New England and touring hardcore and loud rock bands. We know we are an alternative rock band, but wanted to give these specific songs the heavy, loud treatment.” Glenn continues, “We had Bryce Goggin (known for work with Pavement, Phish, and Lemonheads), who produced and recorded our debut album, mix the tracks to tape, so that the release would fit our sound and style and not be too much of a 180. The result is two tracks that pick up where the debut album left off, but go in a bit of a different direction rather than a straight path.”

Wild Sun will play a showcase tonight (4.22.16) at The Knickerbocker in Westerly, RI to celebrate the EP release. To ramp up the hype, the first physical copies of Rigby EP will be for sale at the show and on their website.

Local alternative station 95.5 WBRU gushes, “When Glenn sings, he feels it—the music, the song, the lyrics, the truth. You can tell that he sings of a deep and personal truth. Behind the jokes is someone who was meant to play music.” Wild Sun’s strong local support won them a nomination as Motif Magazine’s 2014 “Breakthrough Act of the Year,” as their fresh and honest approach connects with fans and critics alike.

Wild Sun has a heavy show schedule for the spring, culminating with a performance at Northside Festival in Brooklyn this June [details]. The band will be utilizing the summer months to record their sophomore full-length album, taking a short break to open for The Wombats on Friday, August 12 as part of Providence’s summer concert series, sponsored by WBRU and Dunkin Donuts. Be sure to catch them at the tour dates below and grab your copy of Rigby EP.