Spotlight: Wild Years (from Ann Arbor) - playing Phonotropic 9 / 26

Deep Cutz: Wild Years

Wild Years: Ann Arbor-based electronic/folk/indie-rock project conjuring warm wholesome vibes of visceral basement dissertations spurred by freaked-up electric buzzings, resonating closely to an almost danceable, if not certainly psychedelic, vibe. Dig their hard hitting walls of guitar gushers in a dizzy blitz of fuzzy alt-rock beauty (“This Rut is a Canyon”) or feedback warbled acoustic-led “Bartering for a Bike,” conjuring sidewalk-scuffed strolls in inverted-suburbia with heartfelt melody.


“I’m hoping to be able to find some sort of balance between pure energy and mayhem, and a strong melodically defined vision,” said songwriter Alex Itkin. The UofM student DJs at the school radio, WCBN, exhuming rare '60s psychedelic records and African music, throw in Elephant 6, Stephen Malkmus, Jeff Tweedy and M. Ward also. With Bob Teixeira joining during the project’s prosperous show-filled summer, Wild Years look to have an even busier autumn, with more shows, recordings and eventually inviting more members. “I love noise and free spirit and just rockin’ the fuck out,” said Alex, “but there’s also something to be said for well-crafted orchestral pop.” September 26 at Crofoot's Phonotropic: myspace.com/wildyearsmusic.