Wolves, the seventh album by the tuneful Portland-based duo WONDERLY, out today, represents a high watermark in the development of the band’s expansive pop style.
“We called our new album Wolves because there’s a duality in all of us,” says Jim Brunberg, one half of Wonderly, with longtime collaborator and fellow multi-instrumentalist Ben Landsverk. “There’s an expression: ‘Inside you are two wolves. Which wolf will you feed?’”
Comprised of 11 brightly melodic, extravagantly arranged, emotionally hard-hitting original songs, Wolves was prepped in advance with the release of singles “Plaid Pantry,” an upbeat yet dark narrative set in the titular Portland convenience store, and “It Was Written That Way,” an offbeat song about identity and personal truth, penned initially for director Jon Garcia’s independent film Strictly for the Birds.
Wonderly will celebrate the album’s release at Portland, OR’s The Old Church on Saturday, November 2nd. The event will feature a wide array of Portland’s hometown heroes, including Laura Veirs, Rachel Taylor Brown, and Jenson Tuomi. Wonderly’s all-star band also includes Chet Lyster, Dan Hunt, Jack Mortensen, Ned Failing, The Paul Brainard Horns, Dana & Vern Sparling, and Joshua Segal.
Wolves is the culmination of a creative partnership that dates back to 2016. Brunberg and Landsverk debuted Wonderly with a self-titled 2017 collection; the unit continued with the post-pandemic release Story We Tell in 2022 and the covers collection Appropriate ’til Death in 2023. Their film scores have been featured on the soundtracks for the independent films Last Ferry, At the Video Store and other independent features, while their music has been heard as the theme song of the New York Times’ podcast The Daily and writer Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar, as well as on Brunberg’s award-winning podcast Roam Schooled.
Wolves is the most mature and affecting collection by two musicians who have long served the Portland musical community. Brunberg is the founder and co-owner of Mississippi Studios and Revolution Hall, two of the city’s favorite concert venues. Landsverk, a former choir director and experienced musical director, helms the Low Bar Chorale, which he describes as “a large-scale community singing experience with a live band.”
Wolves features contributions from Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas, the Low Bar Chorale and several other local talents, including pedal steel guitarist Paul Brainard, drummer Dan Hunt (Neko Case, Ages and Ages), brass and wind players Megan Diana and Lisa Lipton, as well as Brunberg’s daughters Dana and Vern Sparling on horns and vocals.
Recorded at Brunberg’s home studio on his farm outside Portland, four songs on Wolves are co-written, and Brunberg pens four and three by Landsverk.
Landsverk’s comments about his compositions also apply to Brunberg’s work: “The songs are all based on true events. I hope that in some of these songs, you get the sense of the untrustworthy narrator, not just someone who’s a hopeless pawn in the game of life, but someone who is equally culpable.”
The new set showcases Brunberg and Landsverk’s considerable virtuosity. Asked who plays what on the record, Landsverk exclaims, “Sometimes we can’t remember!” Adds Brunberg, “The general rule is, if it has a bow and strings, it’s Ben. If you blow into it, whether it’s a reed or brass instrument, it’s me. The drum kit is me when it’s not Dan Hunt or [Elvis Costello’s longtime drummer] Pete Thomas, who guests on two tracks. Most of the bass playing is Ben, and we split the guitars and the keyboards.” Both Landsverk and Brunberg sing, often in harmony.
Wolves sports a considerably more opulent sound than Wonderly’s previous records. Brunberg explains, “Compositionally, we were coming up with stuff that we wanted to incorporate, but it was difficult to incorporate some of the things we wanted to do thematically or motif-wise unless we created some infrastructure. We are both huge Beach Boys freaks, and we love Van Dyke Parks; we love Brian Wilson. Those guys paved a path before us.”
He adds, “We literally played every note on the previous records, but we did have some special guests on this record. We had some help. Even though we made it at home, we had a team of people dropping in and contributing a lot of richness to this record.”
Wonderly is Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk. Wolves is released today, November 1, 2024.