Like any musician trying to navigate a burgeoning career and the aftershocks of a pandemic, the members of Introduce Wolves have at times had to go with the flow. One might say their journey is encapsulated within their latest offering.
Lead singer Rory Malkin, bassist Liam McCook, guitar player Phil Cartwright and drummer Sean Clarke are thrilled to present Flow Like Water alongside their producer, Emily Ryan at Rain City Recorders. Some are no doubt already familiar with the EP’s five tracks, which the band has played for two or three years.
“It’s probably the culmination of two, maybe even three years of our songwriting and band life,” says McCook. “It just goes to show how long the creative and recording process is, a lot longer than a lot of people realize … but Flow Like Water is a pretty good snapshot of where we are as a band.”
‘Not all doom and gloom’
According to the band’s website, Introduce Wolves has always been influenced by “modern day angst” when it comes to lyrical content. Those levels of angst haven’t necessarily changed, as the band members continues to make art based on the experiences and struggles in their lives. Yet their approach has shifted from broader, semi-political messaging to a variety of more nuanced themes.
“The songwriting in this EP is way more personal than our last EP, Inverted World,” Malkin explains. “We've gone from a more worldly perspective to a more personal perspective. I also think that our music is not all doom and gloom—there’s always a positive spin. ‘Flow Like Water’ [the title track] has a message about being open and honest about who you are … it’s as close to a straight-up rock song as we’ve ever written.”
No two songs in Flow Like Water are quite alike. “Bruce Lee” brings a bass-driven punk vibe to the table, while “Flow Intro” is a softer, slower ballad. “Staring at the Ceiling” was inspired by British rock from the 1990s, especially Radiohead, and it harkens back to the band’s more political themes with its lyrics about conspiracy theories. Finally, “Be Cool” is a nod towards progressive rock and post-hardcore.
“These songs are still very true to us as people in the band, and we're still stoked to play them all the time,” says McCook.
If you’ve never heard Introduce Wolves perform before, you’re in for an alternative rock-based smorgasbord that weaves together the tastes of its four members. Their style runs the gamut from brash and aggressive to mellow and melancholic. Folks who don’t enjoy heavy music might call it metal, while metalheads themselves are unlikely to make that comparison.
‘A huge learning experience’
Introduce Wolves takes its name from the act of bringing wolf packs into certain floundering natural areas. It’s not a quick or entirely straightforward process, but the presence of wolves can induce a series of changes that have successfully restored balance to multiple North American ecosystems.
That’s an apt metaphor for the lessons Malkin and his mates have learned over the last few years as they’ve come together, played together, and recorded two EPs.
Even committing to play shows in late 2020, with COVID still very much a factor, was a risky proposition. As the band’s profile grew, they attracted various producers from Vancouver—which actually turned out to be stressful as they figured out who to work with and why. Kevin Condie also left the fold in 2022, and his departure generated some uncertainty until Clarke stepped up to fill his place behind the drum kit.
Much like how an ecosystem needs to be pruned and refined to attain harmony, no one ever mastered anything without growth pains along the way.
“Releasing [Flow Like Water] has been a huge, huge learning experience for us,” Malkin says. “Amongst all of this recording, we became event managers as well, and that's taken up more of our energy than recording and writing.
“We have lots of new songs that we've been working on, but honestly, I'm more interested in something completely new. I have complete faith in us that we will come up with something new in the next 12 months that's going to be better than this EP.”
Until then, fans of Introduce Wolves can enjoy Flow Like Water on Spotify. The EP will launch officially on March 23 at Après Après.
