Localized: Merchant Royal and Big Wild Wings

Sometimes in life, when we’re lucky, magical meetings just sort of happen, and beautiful things take flight on their own. Big Wild Wings was born of just such circumstances—in the spring of 2012, when singer/bassist (and sometimes guitar box player) Lyndsi Austin, drummer Chris Soper and keyboardist Tyler Hummel made good on some casual chat to get together and jam. One jam turned into another, and then, “Holy hell, we wrote some songs together. Who would’ve thought?” Hummel says. Surprised and motivated by their early songwriting success, they quickly put their act to stage. Soper says, “Next thing we knew, we had a show before we had a band name. We had to make some fast moves.”

The chemistry among the three members is evident, even just in the setting of our interview. “I think it helps that we get along with each other really well,” Hummel says. They’ve put that camaraderie to good use, joining forces to create one of the most anticipated and celebrated local releases of the year. Their debut album, Speaking in Cursive, features 10 tunes that are a culmination of dozens of shows’ worth of experience and crowd response.

“We were able to make it a cohesive collection of songs,” Austin says. The trio used their experiences playing live shows to help whittle down the selection they chose to record. “It used to be a bit of a dartboard,” Soper says of their songwriting in the past. However, after spending the last two years refining their performances and style, they feel more confident than ever and ready to face the next steps as a band. Austin spends time ensuring that the new album is getting the attention it deserves via social media, bookings and beyond. After all the work to get to this point, she’s not going to let it just disappear quietly into the night. “Let’s not let this good, cool thing we’ve created die down,” she says. The work she does is paying off with gigs opening for touring bands at great spots like Urban Lounge. Soper says, “People have been super supportive.” Naturally, playing more shows and touring to promote the new album are major parts of the agenda for the near future.

The band found it difficult to justify touring before, without a new recording to promote. “That was our biggest flaw performing over the last year and a half—we couldn’t give them anything,” Hummel says. Now, armed with their new release, Big Wild Wings can really spread their wings and fly. “It’s hard to go play shows out of town if you don’t have a product to leave. Ultimately, that’s what you’re trying to do. Now that we have our CD, we have a lot of freedom and flexibility to play outside of Utah,” Austin says. Their live show and new album are already getting rave reviews locally, so getting their music out into the world is a must-do on their agenda.

Fans have compared them to acts such as Radiohead, The Cranberries, Beach House and even Phantogram. “We have kind of an indie sound, but it’s almost reminiscent of the ’90s in a way,” Austin says. They blend a fresh, airy sound with inklings of alternative melodies and beats, and Austin’s voice floats over it all like an angst-y angel—the combination reminds me of another ’90s essential, and one of my personal faves, Mazzy Star. Most intriguing, though, is how they do it all without the obligatory lead guitarist to complete the “traditional” band. “We’ve definitely talked about bringing other members in, but it’s really wonderful and easy to work with three people,” Hummel says. Austin agrees: “We have kind of a lot of sound to just fill up with three people, but I think we do an all right job of it,” he says. “We’re just always on the same page with our writing.”

The undeniable creative chemistry between the three will not be slowed, and so more music is always on the horizon. “It’s really refreshing to get back into the vibe we had when we started, to be able to write music together,” Austin says. After spending many months writing, perfecting, recording and performing the material on Speaking in Cursive, the band is ready to stretch their musical muscles once again and begin the journey toward their next release.

In the meantime, you can still catch Big Wild Wings in town before they take flight out into the great beyond and see for yourself what all the buzz is about. They’ve been opening for sweet touring acts like mr. Gnome and Perfume Genius at Urban Lounge, and now you can catch them there on Jan. 9 for the first Localized of the New Year.

If you make it down to the show, you can take flight with your own physical copy of Big Wild Wings’ new album, Speaking in Cursive. Otherwise, stop by bigwildwings.bandcamp.com to download it.