The Louisville power trio Wombo—Sydney Chadwick, Cameron Lowe, and Joel Taylohas—has been rocking for almost a decade now, playing a brand of elusive, tuneful, and somewhat damaged guitar music that seems to recall many different points in the history of indie rock without fully hitting on any single stylistic coordinate. We previously highlighted the title track taken from their new record Danger in Fives; it still hits hard, snaking and brooding like vintage Blonde Redhead. Now that the album is out in full, it felt like a perfect time to connect with the band and ask them about some of their influences, both formative and contemporary. Read the piece—and listen to Danger in Fives—below.
Can you remember your first encounter with underground music?
Syd: Definitely YouTube when I was a teenager. I was maybe 14 when we first got the internet in our house. That’s how I found out about Bush Tetras, Lemon Kittens, Pylon, all these sounds that were new to me and different from what my parents were listening to.
Cameron: As teenagers, we had some older friends who shared some great bootleg CDs with us. I especially remember Renaldo and the Loaf’s Songs for Swinging Larvae/ Songs from the Surgery.
Joel: Probably going to shows at Skull Alley in high school. I was 16 and enamoured with the community that venue created. Even as one of the youngest people there, I always felt welcomed and respected by the older folks in the scene. I saw Mountain Asleep, Matt and Kim, Lemuria, Russian Circles, and Foxy Shazam there to name a few. RIP Skull Alley.
What did your early bands sound like? How did those experiences inform how you write and play now?
Syd: Cameron and I were in a band with our friend Ashley Bowen we called The Debauchees when we were 16. We would just share all the music we were learning about with each other. We were really just blending all of our different tastes and trying to figure out who we were. There was a lot of play. I think those are some things that stuck.
Cameron: We’ve changed a lot since The Debauchees but there are elements which are still the same, like the way we often build songs around the bass.
Joel: It was pretty emo, mathy, busy. We labeled it “skramz.” Not sure how much of that translates to my playing now, but it definitely gave me drive to practice and improve my drumming chops.
Louisville has a rich history of punk and indie. How important is that continuum to the music you make in wombo?
Syd: The history is really rich but I was totally oblivious to it as a teenager when I first started playing in bands. I recommend the book White Glove Test - Louisville Punk Flyers 1978–1994 if anyone wants to learn about some of that.
Joel: It’s important to me to continue to create an environment for young people to enjoy music in Louisville. I deeply appreciate the older folks that created a safe space for me when I was young and I want to pay that forward.
Your videos tend to lean towards the surreal. Could you talk about any influences behind the new one for "Danger in Fives," the title track from your new record?
Cameron: I like the work of Michel Gondry. His music videos are really cool and I especially like his commitment to using practical effects, even if it takes more work. We did a lot more set building and projectors and other IRL things this time which added more depth to our visual language.
Who is a band or artist that influences you that might be a little unexpected?
Syd: I think maybe movie scores. I think a lot of the time I work songs out on piano, which I taught myself from trying to play things like Danny Elfman’s Edward Scissorhands or the theme from The Illusionist by Philip Glass or the Pan’s Labyrinth theme by Javier Navarrete. It seeps in there.
Cameron: Aphex Twin is one of my favorite artists. I love all those crazy noises.
Joel: Tim Hecker, Tera Melos, and Blink 182 were huge for me growing up.
What does the dream Wombo tour look like?
Syd: We get time to do all the exploring of places we want and see some beautiful landscapes. I really loved the time we got to walk around Redwood national park with Deeper when we went on tour with them. I’d never seen trees that big in person.
Cameron: I’m already living the dream.
Joel: We’re on tour with our friends and we get to play all the big ones like Red Rocks and The Greek theater. We have adequate days off for long drives and we eat lots of good food.
Any non-musical influences at the moment?
Syd: I like to paint and I like to read. Right now, I really love the book The Hearing Trumpet by Leonarra Carrington, who was a surrealist painter. I also just went to this art gallery, Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky to see Cierra Evans’s show and I visited their gallery library and learned about an artist named Nellie Mae Rowe so I've been enjoying looking at paintings by her too.
What is a Wombo approved snack that has fueled tours and recording sessions?
Syd: I like the Omega trail mix from Trader Joe’s with the dried cherries and things. Also Greek yogurt or hummus and pretzels are a good gas station fallback that won’t hurt my belly when desperate. Also a cappuccino.
Cameron: Tuna is my favorite. Also having a cooler and doing a little grocery run is a big help.
Joel: I second the tuna, I can literally feel the omega-3s improving my brain function after eating some on tour. Also daily treats are a must such as an ice cold limoncello La Croix or a 3 p.m. Cortado.
Photo Credit: Tom Sawyer
.png)
