Following the release of The Mild West's bouncing pop-rock single 'Pathetic', we caught up with the guys to find out more about the songs they love and why. Check out their selection below and if you're a fan you're sure to love 'Pathetic'!
1. “Dream of Mickey Mantle” - Bleachers
Kylie: This song blew my mind when I first heard it. I didn’t know anything about production and I hadn’t explored songwriting outside of an occasional hobby, but this song was a before-and-after moment for my musical journey. I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of production and how to create unique sonic textures, but I attribute much of that curiosity to hearing this song and asking myself, “How do you get a song to sound like THAT?”
2. “Digital Love” - Daft Punk
Dan: Daft Punk’s reputation as electro-pop geniuses requires no additional validation from me but I’ll try to provide some anyway. As one of many teenagers whose gateway drug to dance music was the robots’ 2001 classic “Discovery”, I found myself utterly transfixed by the simple beauty of a slowly filtered synth chord progression that never quite resolved. Finding ways to create a similar sense of gentle, ever present tension in my own songs has been a continuing mission ever since. You can hear some heavy handed influence from “Digital Love” in our song “Glow”, most notably an oft-quoted lick from the iconic talk box part in our own synth solo. (Katy Perry fans might recognize this from “International Smile” as well!).
3. A'll My Ghosts" - Lizzy McAlpine
Zack: This track took me from having Lizzy McAlpine on my radar to becoming a huge fan. The track builds slowly and intentionally, articulating an emotional journey of reflecting on regret from a past love affair. When the last chorus finally hits, the melody is so captivating that it may stay in your head for weeks on end.
4. “Passage to Bangkok” - Rush
Tyler: This song just fires me up right from the get-go. The opening riff always gives me chills. I remember the day when my dad showed me this song for the first time on our way to see my grandparents in Wisconsin. That moment is when I fell in love with Rush, and obviously as a drummer, Neil Peart (The GOAT). I would listen to this song with my dad on the way to school almost everyday until I could tap along on the back of the seat note for note (at least in my head it was perfect). In my humble opinion, this is one of Geddy Lee’s strongest vocal performances and always makes me feel like I’m about to face the final boss. So much love for Rush, Neal Peart, and everything they have done for rock music.
5. “Every Night” - Flor
The gang: What happens when you combine Flor’s penchant for delicate yet powerful hooks with mix-master Matt Huber’s sonic expertise? You get “Every Night”, a song so good we decided to set our own year end wrap-up video to it instead of using one of our own songs. Not a single moment is wasted in this pop-rock masterpiece, with every beat either launching the listener into a new euphoric drop or building up to the next one. We had the pleasure of watching Flor open with this in Chicago on their Future Shine tour and proceeded to all lose our voices for the next week from belting along.
Listen to 'Pathetic' below: