all a view | Every Moment Has A Song

Wanderlust: All a View (2021)

Philadelphia quartet Wanderlust had a brief flirtation with major label status in the waning days of alternative rock’s radio domination, and their lone RCA album Prize from 1995 is highly regarded (and featured elsewhere within this blog).

Despite the critical success of that record and opening slots on tours by The Who and Collective Soul, the band were dropped by RCA before they could release a follow-up.

In the time since, front man/main songwriter Scot Sax has found success writing for major artists, including the Grammy-winning Faith Hill-Tim McGraw duet “Like We Never Loved at All”, while guitarist Rob Bonfiglio released numerous solo albums, established himself as a respected L.A. studio musician and toured with the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson’s band.

Then in 2020, Sax discovered a DAT tape of demos he’d written for a follow-up to Prize. Realizing the potential of the songs, he reconvened the foursome to give the material a proper band treatment.

Sax relates, “I feel like a young Cameron Crowe, with a story about a band that fell victim to its own insecurities in the bright lights — and with the big wigs — of the music business, circa 1995.”

“Now, the same four guys find an old cassette of songs never recorded, long forgotten in their fall from grace. So what do they do? They make the album that never was.”

The band each laid down their parts separately from home during the pandemic–which is why the above video from the single “Corduroy Moon” doesn’t show them actually performing together.

The results lean less toward the heavy 90’s rock sound of their debut and instead bring a plethora of power pop and melodic rock notables to mind: The Raspberries on “2 Million Pieces”. Big Star and the Jayhawks on “Corduroy Moon”. Sloan and Joe Walsh on “Trick of the Light”. And Badfinger in the chorus of “I Can Be Moved”.

Pretty good company.

Listen to: “2 Million Pieces”