Wild Party

Wild Party, a San Antonio, Texas outfit, produces what they label "face-melting pop music" by fusing chunky guitars, understated electronics, and assertive dance rhythms in a manner that recalls New York hipsters far more than typical Lone Star State acts. Lincoln Kreifels, serving as lead singer, and guitarist Lucas Hughes launched the band in 2009 after a friendship that stretched back to junior high; although Hughes had already performed with several local groups, this marked Kreifels’ first experience fronting an ensemble. They began Wild Party strictly as a recording venture, capturing songs and uploading them online, until a 2010 single drew the interest of British new wave revivalists the Wombats and earned the Texans an invitation to tour the U.K. The overseas trek proved overwhelming at such an early stage, so the group entered a hiatus lasting nearly two years before reassembling with Ethan Kaufmann on bass and Jake Kreifels, Lincoln’s brother, on drums. The updated lineup placed greater weight on live shows while still devoting substantial effort to the studio, resulting in the 2013 digital-only release of their album Phantom Pop through iTunes. Once the song “When I Get Older” attracted notice via its music video, the record entered the iTunes Top 100 Downloads chart; a physical edition followed in 2014 on the independent label Old Friends Records. By then Cary LaScala had taken over drums from Jake Kreifels, and LaScala also designs and sells a clothing line for skinny men that has been worn by Beck and Rivers Cuomo, all while Wild Party logged increasing road time in step with their growing popularity.