Track-by-Track: Gila Teen Tell Us All About Their Album ‘SoftWareWolf’

Gila Teen is bringing a whole new meaning to the term college rock. They so playfully refer to themselves as “college rock for college dropouts,” which is not the typical definition of the term. Located in Denver, Colorado, Gila Teen used to be a band, but now it’s more of just a duo. In high school, they went by the name The Paper Foxes, and the band tried their hand at many genres. Things didn’t end up working out with the other members so the band transitioned into being a duo. Now it’s just Hunter Wood on vocals and guitar and Aidan Bettis on bass and drums.

Similar to their roots, Gila Teen is not very genre-specific. They blend elements of post-punk, folk, new wave, and indie. Their songs tap into the modern anxieties of young people. Their music is perfect for times of heartache and longing.

Gila Teen has a new album out titled SoftWareWolf. Hunter Woods joins us for an exclusive Track-by-Track rundown of all the origins and key moments that saw these songs come to fruition.

1. “Itsy Bitsy Sisyphus”

“The boulder rolls to the bottom of the hill. The sun comes up and dries up all the rain. You clock in at your job, you clock out, you go to a bar, rinse, repeat. The endless cycle of burnout, mixed with the allure of addiction and the compounding problems that come with that, are at the heart of the lyrics. Add a dash of queer religious trauma and a magnificent booming organ intro, and you’ve got a compelling invitation to the rest of the album.”

2. “Snack Run”

“When I initially wrote ‘Snack Run,’ I was pretty convinced it might not make the album. But when I sent the rough draft to my creative partner Aidan, he immediately heard both the potential of the track and the keyboard line driving the song. We leaned into inspiration from the earlier Snow Patrol records on the lush guitars, and eventually ‘Snack Run’ became the obvious choice for the main single. It’s also the thematic thesis of SoftWareWolf; what does it mean to survive under the burdens of economic catastrophe, rampant addiction, and inevitable heartbreak?”

3. “Paris Syndrome”

“The term ‘Paris Syndrome’ was coined in the 1980s to describe the extreme level of disappointment felt by some tourists when the reality of Paris failed to live up to their radicalized and idealistic perception of the city. Symptoms include extreme depression, suicidality, and even hallucinations.

“In romantic relationships, particularly toxic ones, we can often be in love with our idea of who a person is instead of who they actually are. This feeling can also cause extreme depression, suicidality, and hallucinations. Another inspiration on the track from ’80s Japan comes from the drums we ripped from an ancient Casio keyboard, which certainly lightens the mood.”

Gila Teen ‘SoftWareWolf’ album artwork

4. “Magneto Was Right”

“For every Gila Teen album thus far, we have written a track quoting an ’80s cartoon villain (see Skeletor on ‘Doesn’t,’ and Megatron is a Gun on ‘Pain Vacation’). As the themes of anti-capitalism and queer resilience started becoming more prevalent in our songwriting this album cycle, Magneto was heavily on my mind. We had a recording of us jamming an Interpol-inspired ditty, and it felt fitting to honour the master of magnetism in that style. Mutant Liberation Forever!”

5. “Hedgehog’s Dilemma”

“‘The Hedgehog’s Dilemma’ is a metaphor for a style of problematic relationship. Basically, you have two hedgehogs who are seeking warmth from the cold. They could cuddle up next to each other, but both of them are covered in quills, so doing so would hurt both of them. The thing that they both desire is the exact same thing that keeps them apart. When love hurts, is it worth it?”

6. “Hulk Hands Fight Club”

“The heart of this track is a single take Aidan did on his phone, playing guitar on his porch during the fourth of July. The first time he played it for me, I cried. I had nothing to do with this one, so I’ll let my co-conspirator speak for himself:

“I’ve never been much of a words guy, so here’s a song that is purely vibe-based. The feeling of late summer nights, talking till things stop making sense, being at one with your place in the world while also sitting just outside the norms.”

7. “In Defense of Decaf”

“Our second single from the album underlines the album’s other theme, the dissolution of toxic twin flame relationships. I once, foolishly, agreed to drive a new partner from Denver to St. Louis to see their family. The trip was… tense to put it lightly. At a certain point, one has to take responsibility for abandoning their own boundaries for the sake of another person. St. Louis isn’t the problem, I am.”

8. “Reward If Found”

“This was the first track we recorded for this project, and I wrote it hours after being fired from a job I had a love/hate relationship with. Initially just a fast-paced punk-rock ballad, Aidan added a beautifully earnest interlude on guitar.

“When I listen to the track, that interlude sends me to a bright, beautiful, and melancholic field for a brief respite before crashing back into the concrete jungle, kicking and screaming. Every time we play this one live, I find myself chuckling to myself afterwards because I’m having so much fun, and I think that translates to the studio track.”

9. “Local TV Guide”

“The mellowest song on the project, and also one of the few to use a live drummer, our good buddy Jack Ingman. Jack absolutely kills on this track. Lyrically, I think this is the most earnest and hopeful song I’ve written. I’m typically more motivated by heartbreak or despair, but I was actually able to tap into some self-love for once. Semi-unfortunately, that self-love comes wrapped in a heavy coating of tongue-in-cheek irony, but I’m an old dog. New tricks are going to be hard.”

Gila Teen, photo by Adeline Fiore (@eni__leda)

10. “The Next Contestant”

“We almost forgot to finish ‘The Next Contestant.’ And we struggled to find the right sound for the arrangement; the drums never quite fit, we couldn’t decide how we wanted the bass tone to be, and the perfectionist demon in my brain wanted to re-work the lyrics indefinitely. We shelved it in favour of working on the rest of the album, and it gathered dust until near the end, when our producer, David, brought it back out, added tasteful piano and a simple but effective drum beat, and it ended up being the dark horse of the project. Now I just have to remember how to play it live.”

11. “Dracula Attackula”

“‘Dracula Attackula’ was an out-of-body experience. Little information remains in the geological record to inform future civilizations what this song is about, where it came from, or its cultural significance to its people. Still, one thing is certain. This song absolutely rips.”

12. “Luke 22:48 (KJV)”

“‘But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?’

“I wrote this song before I was ever in Gila Teen, and it was never meant to ever see the light of day. Nearing the end of the album cycle we realized we needed just one more to tie it all together, but my creative well had run dry, so I went in the (metaphorical) closet (double entendre intended) and dragged this one back out. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I like sad endings, and I think this one closes the album perfectly.”