Wild Moccasins

Wild Moccasins craft a fresh take on jangle pop that surpasses the band’s actual tenure, merging glistening guitar textures with vivid vocal harmonies traded between the male and female members. The Houston, Texas outfit first surfaced on the local scene in 2007 and drew favorable coverage for its initial pair of EPs; after issuing the debut full-length Skin Collision Past on Team Science in 2010, the group secured a deal with New West Records. Its cool guitar-centered pop received thorough documentation on 88 92 in 2014, whereas the 2018 release Look Together reflected a shift toward a sleeker, keyboard-centric approach.

Vocalist-guitarists Cody Swann and Zahira Gutierrez began casually trading acoustic guitar parts and melodies in 2007, yet the material quickly expanded into a complete ensemble once guitarist Andrew Lee, bassist Nicholas Cody, and drummer Justin Martinez joined that autumn. The following year brought the self-released EP Diamonds for Constellations, whose energetic concerts helped attract wider attention. A second self-released effort, Microscopic Metronomes, appeared in 2009 shortly after the band’s South by Southwest debut and earned Best EP recognition at the Houston Press Music Awards.

Skin Collision Past, the first long-player, reached stores the next year via Team Science. Numerous personnel shifts marked the remainder of 2010: Justin Martinez departed, John Baldwin took the drum chair, Andrew Lee’s exit reduced the lineup to a quartet, and New West president signed the band after witnessing a live set. The label reissued Skin Collision Past as a deluxe edition in spring 2011, appending Microscopic Metronomes. The subsequent New West album, 88 92, arrived in January 2014. By the completion of the third full-length, the keyboard-driven Look Together in 2018, John Baldwin had exited and Avery Davis had assumed drums and percussion while contributing keyboards to the sessions.