Chicago Punk Rock Wilmette Mix Pop Punk & Hardcore On “Playing Dead” Single Wilmette
Reviewed by Sam Lowry

From out of the suburbs of Chicago comes Wilmette, taking punk songwriting to a new level on their latest single.

From the suburbs of Chicago, Wilmette is a mix of pop punk and hardcore with a sprinkle of early 2000’s emo. The band prides itself on honest lyrical content and strong songwriting. Their 2019 debut “Anxious Body” was met with rave reviews. The band returns with the first single “Playing Dead” from their forthcoming album, which will be announced very soon.

Is it any wonder a band from the same neck of the woods as Fall Out Boy takes that vibe but adds a whole lot more Chicago grit? This has a great punch to it as is the tradition with Chicago bands from Alkaline Trio to Rise Against. This has a hint of that gothy dark energy that the mentioned bands all have.

Vocalist Aaron Hailey says, "After a long break from writing, "Playing Dead" was the first song we wrote together in over a year since our previous release. Much of the song came together in the studio, with the help of our producer Seth Henderson at ABG." Sometimes that’s the song that feels the best to any band, the one that gets you back to doing the thing you do best. The song is driving and tight as hell with slick production. One of the best things about the band is the rhythmic changes on the drop of a dime and the breaks between choruses that all feel different even if they are the same. This band uses dynamic as it’s most effective weapon against the TikTok generation's attention span. It’s hard to not pay attention to this, aside from it being catchy, it's got tons of musical hooks from the drum fills alone to the sonic palette the band creates by having moments where the bass drops out or a distant drum sample carries us into a palm-muted double time hook. Just lots of interesting musical ideas going on here that take it to a level above most punky bands. Looking forward to the full album.

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