Premiere: LYXE reconfigures ‘Wave’ to rock your eardrums
LYXE. // photo credit Fally Afani
If you’ve ever yearned for a band in the area to sound like they could easily cover INXS’ “Don’t Change” without sounding like a tribute act, look no further than Lawrence’s LYXE. The trio of Ryan Wise (vocals/guitar), AJ Knudson (bass/background vocals), and Jimmy Girod (drums/background vocals) began as a side project to Wise’s main band, the Sluts, but has since become a comfortable draw on their own.
That drawing power is thanks in no small part to catchy songs with an ’80s alternative feel, as ably demonstrated on their Everything You Could Ever Want EP released in September of 2022. However, the band’s making a focused push to capitalize on those live shows with a remastered version of that EP’s opening track, “Wave,” which better reflects what the band can really do. You can check it out below in our exclusive premiere while reading our interview with LYXE’s Ryan Wise.
The Pitch: Why did you want to go back and remaster “Wave”?
Ryan Wise: With all the momentum we have this year, we wanted to breathe new life into our most popular song. While we were happy with the way our first EP sounded, we wanted to re-release “Wave” as a single. The first time around we didn’t really have the time to give “Wave” the attention it deserved.
How did the song change in the process?
For me, the remaster is just more exciting. It hits harder in the low end, it’s brighter, and it’s inherently louder. We were fortunate enough to get connected with an audio engineer in England named Jake Vertigo. That’s who did the remaster, and we think he did a great job.
Where is the band going next?
LYXE has an exciting year or two ahead of us. We’re looking to spend a significant amount of time on the road. We have some really great new tracks we’re excited to release. We’re also planning on shooting a music video soon. It’s a lot of cool stuff I haven’t had the opportunity to do in my other projects.
Ryan, you play in three bands simultaneously. How the hell do you balance and decide what goes where for the Sluts, Local Darling, and LYXE?
Believe me, it can be a lot, but I’m able to do all three bands because I love making music, and I love the people I do it with. My bandmates and our manager have been very supportive of my busy schedule. Depending on what’s going on with one project or another, sometimes I’m forced to prioritize one over the other. I hate that, but sometimes it just has to happen.
As far as the music goes, it’s usually pretty apparent when I have a new song, what band I’m going to pitch it to. Early on, I’d write a Sluts song and Dover would veto it. That’s kind of why I wanted to have other outlets for my songwriting. There was just so much material that didn’t fit inside The Sluts’ parameters. Anymore I find myself writing songs specifically for each project or writing songs with my bandmates.
