Winged Wheel – Desert So Green

You wait all year for an experimental rock supergroup, and then two come along in the same release week. What are the chances?

Unlike Pullman, whose excellent III is built on deep friendship and a long history of in-person collaboration, Winged Wheel’s story has its roots in the quarantine phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. While you were busy tending to your sourdough starter, Cory Plump (Spray Paint) set to work on developing some drum loops that Fred Thomas (Tyvek) had shared with him online. Matthew J. Rolin (Power/Rolin Duo) was roped in to add guitar embellishments, before Whitney Johnson (Matchess) added vocals—all entirely remotely. Winged Wheel had crafted its debut record without the four members ever being in the same room together.

Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and Lonnie Slack (Water Damages) hopped aboard for 2024’s Big Hotel, and now the six-piece collective is back with Desert So Green, a sophisticated experimental rock jam that flirts with no wave, kosmische, and post-rock. Accordingly, I’m reminded of artists as diverse as Glenn Branca, Neu!, and even Slint. Elsewhere, the urgent, staccato guitars of “Speed Table” evoke the wiry post-punk of Mission of Burma.

Desert So Green is rarely exhilarating, but that’s not to say it’s ever anything less than engaging. Its nine tracks chug along at similar tempos, and the twists and turns within each composition are subtle and smoothly executed. When vocals are present, they are employed more as an additional instrument, adding to the texture rather than communicating a hook. 

Of course, these traits don’t exactly lend themselves to instant gratification, but there’s a quietly accomplished record waiting to be discovered by those who are prepared to approach with patience.

Desert So Green is out now via 12XU.