“If I Have To Die,” then I Want To Hear The Wilderness’ Latest Single [Premiere]

Let’s take a journey out into The Wilderness where you might quite like what you find… Laying within the bushes is the new single “If I Have To Die” from the Kingston-based band, off their brand new album, Until Tomorrow, which is due out on August 21st.

Along with the song’s release comes the debut of its accompanying music video, a half live, half-animated affair that looks as though you’re experiencing some sort of virtual reality. A working-class band with a working-class attitude, The Wilderness is composed of six young men making purposeful, important statements about life and the world at large.

With some thoughtful musings on the track and its connection with our current realities, lead singer Jonas Lewis-Anthony said, “The song is as much a statement of defiance as it is a response to crisis. It was born from the feeling of powerlessness in the face of the world falling apart, and acknowledges that sometimes the only power we have is to keep ourselves well, and that often, that has to be enough. This song was written before the COVID-19 crisis, but the sentiment carries a certain weight in this era of social isolation as we find ourselves constantly connected through our devices and ever more aware of the systemic failings of the institutions we ought to trust.

‘If I Have To Die’ is a song that I felt I really had to write. We started 2020 by being bombarded with what at the time felt like pretty apocalyptic news. It felt like climate change, capitalism, coronavirus and a potential world war three was going to kill us all and there was nothing I could do to stop it. The song acknowledges the world is awful and although it feels like we’re on the precipice of disaster, we can find comfort and peace in and around the people we love.”

You typically wouldn’t expect a band from Kingston to be as worldly as The Wilderness with the group composed of two Canadians, two Americans, a Brit, and a Frenchman. Their contemporary indie rock sound is both big and powerful sounding with frequent comparisons to The National, Mumford & Sons, and The Lumineers. Formed in 2015, the band has earned a deserving reputation as a dynamic live act with over 400 shows played over the last three and a half years. Their debut EP, Seminary Road, was released in 2018, followed by the release of five singles, the most recent being this year’s “Pick You Up.” While the world may be awful, at least we have The Wilderness to help direct us towards something more positive.

Artwork for “If I Have to Die” by The Wilderness