Winged Wheel’s Fred Thomas knows better than to underestimate the random nature of his experimental super-band. “So much of what happens gets pulled from thin air,” says the group’s sonic jack of all trades.
A prime example, “I See Poseurs Everywhere” grew like a virulent strain of weirdness out of a lap-steel riff from Lonnie Slack. “It bubbled up in the studio into this Silver-Apples-meets-ZZ-Top jammer,” says Thomas. “The working title was ‘Truck Stop’ because of how dirty and gruff the riff was—like something you’d hear in a nearly abandoned, potentially dangerous truck stop in the middle of nowhere.”
As for Winged Wheel’s own geographic roots, they’re all over the place. Thomas is a veteran of southeast Michigan’s underground scene; Slack is a member of Austin noise outfit Water Damage; Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Circuit des Yeux) is a fixture in Chicago’s indie circles; Cory Plump is co-owner of beloved Kingston, N.Y., live music venue Tubby’s; Cleveland-based guitar wiz Matthew J. Rolin is one half of the Powers/Rolin Duo; and the band’s sole marquee name, Steve Shelley, is the longtime drummer for Sonic Youth.
Together, the collective epitomizes the far-flung creativity of the remote workplace. Winged Wheel’s 2022 debut, No Island, was an impromptu file-sharing success, while 2024’s Big Hotel saw the band’s oscillating sound find its grounding even as the lineup expanded. The fine-tuning continues on Desert So Green (available January 9 via 12XU), even if the latest single is a bit of an outlier.
“It’s way more choogling and crunchy than the kraut-inspired improv of ‘Big Hotel’ or the more textural air that makes up the rest of Desert So Green,” says Thomas. “The official title was also pulled out of the ether, from a breakfast conversation on tour that turned into a running inside joke. Though it’s not without a shred of truth to it. We do see poseurs every day, and we need to let them know we’re watching.”
We’re proud to premiere Winged Wheel’s “I See Poseurs Everywhere.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Winged Wheel live.
