Everything seems to be moving twice as fast in the music world this year after all but halting in 2020. What this has looked like for Long Beach alt-rockers Wilder. is a signing to Rude Records followed shortly after by the unveiling of three new singles staggered over the course of a few months, with the pop-punk take on blistering post-hardcore “bitemytongue” serving as the duo’s latest release. Like much of the music that’s come out post-pandemic, the track wrestles with a sense of self at odds with who we thought we were in the past.
“‘bitemytongue’ is about looking back into your past and realizing the things you thought you were doing to become a better person were actually hindering you,” shares vocalist/guitarist Stephen Ramos. “The chorus says, ‘Oh I feel it now, there’s something burning up inside of me.’ This ‘feeling’ honestly changes meaning every day for me. Emotions ranging from being empathetic all the way to rage. The idea is for the listener to interpret these lyrics and connect with them on their own personal level.
“Fun fact: We wanted to write the music for one of our songs to be as simple as we could get it. We ended up using the same three chords for this entire song, from start to finish.”
Watch the video of the track, which sees Ramos and bandmate Nick Sturz performing the single in an aptly industrial setting, below.
