IndieShout Out: Written Years

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Joseph Timmons in Artist News, featured, Featured Artists / Bands, IndieShout Out, Music News, Music Reviews, New, New Albums, New Faces New sounds, New Music, Reviews // 0 Comments

Wade Ouellet of Written Years finds new voice… literally, as he and the band write new music.

Imagine, if you will, you are a singer for an upcoming band, putting in long house and crafting your art, one day you wake to find that you have lost your voice! Seems like something out of the Twilight Zone, unable to speak is bad enough, but to lose your complete ability to do what you love most, sheer terror!

During the lengthy recording of Written Years’ forthcoming release, Wade Ouellet (frontman and songwriter) experienced a sudden and unexplained speech loss – rendering him unable to talk for months. Through the upward climb in getting his voice back, Ouellet began working in near-isolation on a batch of new material.

The Vancouver-based quartet also composed of Kane Enders, Brian Dyck, and Alex Richardson, enlisted producer Ryan Worsley (Dear Rouge, Said The Whale) to help them achieve this new direction and reach new ground.

Their debut single,”Lost In You Now”, was released fresh into 2018 and a DIY video/pseudo-documentary was filmed over a 4-day shoot. The film centered on an eccentric character named Kevin and his own struggle to find acceptance in doing what he loves. His resistance to the norm and to criticism embodied a lot of the same trials the band experienced in creating their new material.

The music of Written Years is exuberantly rich and enigmatic, transcending what you would expect from a very self-proclaimed “modern band”, lyrically warm and with a sense of urgency and tension, but emotionally driven and loaded with talent.

Written Years recently released their sophomore single, “Superficial Feeling,” which was mixed by Jason “JVP” VanPoederooyen (Mother Mother, illScarlett). “This really feels like something special to me. It feels like the next step for us – for Written Years. It’s a corrupt, little 2AM love song about finding yourself in this strange world” said Wade Ouellet, whom also stated “As far as the voice loss, I took a lot of voice rest for a while there and, just by taking care of myself in general, it’s gotten much better. There are still days when delivering a few sentences can feel like climbing an entire mountain but I think it gives my voice a certain unique quality that I actually value. I tend to prefer slightly rugged voices and I like the way people like Conor Oberst, Matt Berninger, or Robert Smith can express their more intimate lyrics.”

Superficial Feeling was released on May 11th on all digital outlets. The emotionally-driven anthem showcases the next step for the indie alternative outfit.

The single has been released exclusively to digital outlets (Spotify, Apple Music, etc) and it’s garnering impressive early support. LISTEN HERE, you can also hear the entire, self-titled album Written Years.