Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Wildlife’s latest single, “No Control,” has all the essential ingredients of an indie-rock anthem: textured guitar riffs, an urgent beat and an irresistibly hooky chorus that’s more vowels than words. They’re the same ingredients that make Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” a resonant hit more than a decade after its release. That’s not to imply “No Control” is formulaic—it’s anything but—since these elements ultimately build around the deep moral center found within.
Just like Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” is a deceptive criticism of American nationalism, Wildlife’s latest cut off their forthcoming record Take The Light With You—aptly released on The Boss’ 70th birthday—is a commentary on Toronto’s rock scene. Under the guise of an energetic anthem, the song brings difficult societal questions to light. The repeated chorus of “I got no control” stands as a helpless yelp against the torrent of toxicity that bleeds through a culture.
Singer Dean Povinksy, witnessing the dude-rock scene’s pervading male culture, began to question the importance of allyship:
This song is from the perspective of someone that might want to be a kind of ally, but feels lost or helpless or like they don’t have a place in the conversation. Well you can help the people around you who are marginalized, but it means speaking the fuck up when the chance presents itself.
Wildlife’s fourth album, Take The Light With You, is due out Oct. 11 on Culvert Music. You can listen to “No Control” below and revisit a 2011 Wildlife set from the Paste archives further down.