Wild Pink Announce New Album, out August 21 via Fire Talk, & Unveil Lead Single/Video, "Round Of Applause At The End Of The World"
Wild Pink is back. Today, Wild Pink announce their new album, Still Coming Down, out August 21st via Fire Talk Records, and present its lead single/video, “Round Of Applause At The End Of The World.” There’s a novelistic impression to the songs of Wild Pink, where characters peer over the edge of potential futures, past mistakes and paths not taken. Backed by a dive bar hue, NYC-based frontman John Ross blends the existential with the celestial, gathering pieces of passer-bys, fictional figures, and historical idiosyncrasies to make sense of what’s in front of him. Ross is a consummate of curiosity, becoming a narrator of a warped and unpredictable America, morphing everyday mundanity into a cinematic, sepia-toned flipbook.
Still Coming Down was recorded across one week in Asheville, NC at the renowned Drop of Sun studios with producer and engineer Alex Farrar (Bnny, Wednesday, Samia). Vocal takes were done in two to three bursts, a notably less laborious process than previous Wild Pink records. “There was not a ton of overthinking,” Ross says. He invited friends to collaborate throughout, mimicking the carousel of characters that comes with living a life on the road. Longtime Wild Pink member Dan Keegan lends his percussive talents, with Meg Duffy (aka Hand Habits), MJ Lenderman and his The Wind bandmates Landon George and Xandy Chelmis adding a raucous vigor to the arrangements.
Lead single “Round Of Applause At The End Of The World” is steely and shredded, pointing to the whirlpools of conspiracy theories and the cloud of misinformation that can take over entire communities. “I don’t know what my idea of fun is anymore,” Ross calls, wry and weary, as distorted guitars respond resolutely. The song ends abruptly, like a person you can’t convince otherwise. Its visual accompaniment is the first of four chapters helmed by Wes Sterrs, which together form a collection of vignettes that complete and complexify Still Coming Down’s distinct world.
Watch Wild Pink's "Round Of Applause At The End Of The World " Video
Wild Pink have been a staple of the indie rock scene for the better part of a decade, and it’s on their sixth album — Still Coming Down — that John Ross cements the voice he’s been steadily honing over the years. Propelled by the witty and ravenous wisdom of 2024’s Dulling the Horns, Ross’ poetic form has only gained traction, as jocular, heartfelt stories pour with a clever and distinctive ease. NFL bros cruise alongside big guys in grocery stores with even bigger tattoos: ghost stories and references from the cinematic haze of movies like Heat, Moneyball and The Town buzz in the background while Ross also points to Waterworld and The Perfect Storm — heroes who wander, looking for answers at the end of the world.
After battling — and beating — cancer, and now becoming a father for the first time, Ross’ outlook has hairpin-bent its way into a simpler significance. Still Coming Down is a genuine rock record, leaning into the dynamics of open-armed arrangements, inviting huge chords, harmonicas, horns, keys and pedal steel to morph and blend into a cathartic swirl. Ross endeavoured to create an album that is as fun to play live as it is for audiences to witness, harkening back to the enthusiasm and motivation he felt growing up as a grunge-obsessed teenager. “Strangely, I feel like I’ve found my voice on this record,” he says.
Still Coming Down is a storied expedition that welcomes in the drifters and the kids kicking up dust; the brokenhearted and the cursed; the ones looking for an answer and the ones who simply couldn’t care less. Ross gives movement to the characters in our heads, the faces we see every few years and the ones who pass us by. It is proper rock meant to be played loud, with your hand out the car window, riding the air as you bound down highways in the early morning hours. Forming soon-to-be classics that revel in their ability to impact without unnecessary frills, Still Coming Down is about the very nature of songwriting and instinct, learning to trust the process and staying open to the lessons you might learn along the way.
Still Coming Down Tracklist
1. Box Store
2. Round Of Applause At The End Of The World
3. Still Coming Down
4. Plates Keep Spinning
5. Like Water
6. Simple
7. Dead For A Sec
8. 500 Is The New 250
9. Relaxing, Special Interests
Wild Pink Tour Dates (NEW DATES IN BOLD)
- Fri. May 29 - Chicago, IL @ Do Division Street Fest
- Thu. Jul. 23 - Philadelphia, PA @ Spruce Street Harbor Park
- Tue. Sep. 1 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
- Wed. Sep. 2 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
- Thu. Sep. 3 - Brighton, UK @ Komedia
- Fri. Sep. 4 - Wiltshire, UK @ End of the Road Festival
- Sat. Sep. 5 - Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
- Sun. Sep. 6 - Manchester, UK @ Gullivers
- Mon. Sep. 7 - London, UK @ The Lexington
- Wed. Sep. 9 - Paris, FR @ Supersonic
- Thu. Sep. 10 - Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
- Sat. Sep. 12 - Parma, IT @ What Goes On Festival
- Fri. Oct. 9 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Lulu’s Downtown
- Sat. Oct. 10 - Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
- Tue. Oct. 13 - Santa Fe, NM @ Marigold
- Wed. Oct. 14 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater *
- Thu. Oct. 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
- Fri. Oct. 16 - Del Mar, CA @ The Sound *
- Sat. Oct. 17 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst *
- Sun. Oct. 18 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater *
- Tue. Oct. 20 - San Francisco, CA @ The Castro *
- Wed. Oct. 21 - Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre *
- Thu. Oct. 22 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox *
- Fri. Oct. 23 - Missoula, MT @ The Wilma *
- Sat. Oct. 24 - Boseman, MT @ The Elm *
- Mon. Oct. 26 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave *
- Wed. Oct. 28 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *
- Thu. Oct. 29 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom *
- Fri. Oct. 30 - Indianapolis, IN @ Old National Centre - Egyptian Room *
- Sat. Oct. 31 - Lexington, KY @ The Burl Outdoors *
- Sun. Nov. 1 - Bloomington, IL @ The Castle Theatre *
- Mon. Nov. 2 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Jones Assembly *
* supporting Shaky Graves
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