Having recently announced Wilder Maker’s upcoming album Male Models out July 29th via Western Vinyl, the band release the new single “A Professional.” Beautifully sung by Felicia Douglass of Dirty Projectors and Ava Luna, “A Professional” showcases the band’s unique blend of control and playfulness. “’A Professional’ dips into the feeling of digital isolation, explains singer-songwriter Gabriel Birnbaum – the way the physical world has become less real and more ghostly, less mysterious and more quantifiable. It’s inspired by this recurring experience I have, usually traveling, where I’ve been alone all day and I suddenly want to connect very badly with people I care about. I fire off several texts and sit there waiting for the phone to light up, with this strange feeling that everyone I know might have vanished.  As soon as I imagined Felicia singing this song, I knew she’d be perfect for it, and she was. I’m so happy and grateful she was able to do it.”

Ask Gabriel Birnbaum what inspired Male Models – the diverse new album from New York band Wilder Maker – and he’ll mention everything from American novelist James Salter and the NBA playoffs to Thin Lizzy and the delicate tightrope of positive masculinity. These reference points might sound arbitrary to the uninitiated listener, but together they provide some insight into the creation of an album that somehow succeeds at being both an apocalyptic novel of ideas and the most cohesive party playlist that you’ve ever heard.

Male Models succeeds in capturing the energy of a crowded party and its accompanying playlist without losing the philosophical underpinnings of its concept. Musically, it also changes shape constantly.  Across the 12 songs of the album, listeners will hear electrified soul, heartfelt folk songs, indie rock, and searing barn burners, all of which are expertly tethered by Birnbaum’s sardonic and doom-laden storytelling.

Photo Courtesy: Ebru Yildiz