Review - The Wastelanders “The Moment.”

The Wastelanders are a proud throwback to the grunge days of a sweaty basement filled to its brim with rebellious angst, occupied by the blaring sounds of an underground artist playing music just for the love of playing music. There’s a charm in that raw emotion, an untapped potential of beauty, and The Wastelanders operate on the fine line of reinvigorating that nostalgic magic while opening your ears to a new sound begging the world for an opportunity to be heard.

With their lead single “The Moment.” The Wastelanders look to bring that nostalgic blueprint to the forefront, as blaring guitars and thumping drums create a sound of defiance and welcome back a spirit not seen since the early days of Fall Out Boy. While lyrically, the song tells a story of wanting to be wanted. Lyrics aside, it’s the instrumentation that tells the story through unfiltered audio emotion.

Musically, the intentional roughness of “The Moment” is an open dare to anyone not connecting with their infectious energy. The listener can almost feel the singer’s plea as they run roughshod through four minutes of hardcore-inspired, hidden-track-quality music.

The Wastelanders provide a sound far removed from the mainstream. It’s beautiful, it’s oppositional, and it’s in your face roughness. You can listen to the single here.