PREMIERE | Well Well Well, "What's Wrong With You"

Daydreaming of desert destinations with Well Well Well; press photo courtesy of the band.

Re-inventing arts of the past offers new points of discoveries and breakthroughs in the present. Channeling the lauded luminaries of the previous eras and emulating their aesthetics provides something more than just a pastiche of what once was. These progressive works that were once ahead of their time arrive full circle, like a cast spell coursing through the time-space continuum to lend its own indelible influence. These inspirations manifest themselves into newfound syntheses, echoing vague semblances of former constructs that materialize into new forms of creative expressions.

Such is the smooth, sparkling and sleek new album Palm Springs from Well Well Well produced by The Mattson 2 (siblings Jared and Jonathan Mattson). Seton Edgerton along with Daniel Nichols took their creative processes to the California cabins of Joshua Tree, Mt. Palomar and San Diego to resurrect the rhythms, blues and album rock of the latter twentieth century for today's audiences. The artists mesmerize with mountain mirages like on "Modern Times", the romantic pop pangs of "I'm Not Him", the glorious and gorgeous getaway sentiments of the title track, to the indoor spa dance party flavor of "Pool House". The group praises a cult of continuous summer to last all year long like on "July Til' June", tranquil tributes to a certain supermarket digest on "TV Guide", to the lush cacti cool of "Saguaro", right before concluding with the snazzy sophisticated beauty of "On Your Own".

Today we present the premiere of the album opener “What’s Wrong With You”, that descends like a blazing dove from the solar heavens. Well Well Well along with The Mattson 2 build a time machine made from the modernist musical materials of favorite forgotten grooves to make something astonishingly futuristic. “What’s Wrong” coasts off candid conversations over conflicts and tides of change that erupts in an electric exhibition of tense and honest energy. Well Well Well takes on the notion of time, the shifts that occur both in ourselves, one another, how those perspectives evolve, how we grow and the subsequent growing pains that are involved in those processes. Edgerton & Nichols explore these inner tumults with rhythms and chords that zing, zap and sizzle in a stream of conscious ride toward inner and outer reckonings. “What’s Wrong With You” traces the passages and trails traveled, documenting the directions and characters met along the way and the influences that impact us all in turn on these twisting and winding paths on the road of life.

Seton Edgerton of Well Well Well provided some exclusive reflections on the epic jam “What’s Wrong With You” and more:

The track was initially written and composed in a small cabin on top of Mount Palomar during one of our early Airbnb sessions (almost didn’t get the deposit back on this one). Dan and I worked out some ideas for a track that developed into a 90s club jam very fitting for the Night at the Roxbury soundtrack. When it came down to writing the melody, I thought how would Prince and Janet Jackson sing this song or even Rick Roll himself. Lyrically it’s about losing yourself into the sea of comfort that we indulge in daily, it’s about facing your previous life and the people that have come and gone and understanding that sometimes it’s okay that you can’t even recognize the person anymore when you happen to run into them. Understanding growth and change hurt the most in the transition, but ultimately the adaptation offers a new lease on life and it’s possibilities.

Seton in session with a double neck guitar; press photo courtesy of the band.

In the studio with The Mattson 2 we heard the transformation from our dark disco 90’s space jam to a Curtis Mayfield jazz/funk shuffle that catapulted the track back to the 70’s. Outside of the pocket yet groovier than Grover, the direction that Jared & Jonathan took this one made for a easy decision of which song would be the album opener.

Well Well Well's new album Palm Springs will be available July 29 (US/Canada) and September 2 (UK/EU) via Royal Oakie Records.