WILD MOCCASINS
BROKEN HEARTS INSPIRE HOUSTON BAND’S STRONG NEW RECORD. |
When Zahira Gutierrez and Cody Swann, the core of Houston indie-pop group Wild Mocassins, broke up in 2014, they knew the dissolution of their personal relationship would work its way into their next album. What they didn’t know was that it would, in fact, became the record’s central focus.
The resulting album, “Look Together,” plays like an exchange of journal entries, backed by a lush wall of dance, pop, disco and New Wave flourishes, beautifully anchored by Gutierrez’s gale-force voice documenting their personal history in song.
“I would write lyrics to a song, maybe with some chords, and then I’d send it over to Cody. And then he’d do the same thing and send it back,” Gutierrez says.
For a while, the former couple communicated only when it had to do with band business.
“That was how we were communicating,” Swann adds. “I’m not just showing her a song, I’m showing her how I’m dealing with this. She’s showing me how she’s dealing with the breakup. This is how we process hurt. This is how we process joy.”
The record stands as the band’s strongest offering to date, after a decade of work. This is clearly an album angling for much bigger audiences. That effort begins Sunday when Wild Moccasins celebrates with a release party at White Oak Music Hall. But the genesis of these songs sparked to life four years ago, with the romantic parting of Gutierrez and Swann.
The breakup happened just after the release of 2014’s “88 92” album, which took Wild Moccasins to new heights and national exposure. The breakup wasn’t the only sacrifice in the name of making music; the band eventually also lost a guitarist and a drummer.
“Everything that came out of this album is a group of people adjusting to their surroundings, becoming a product of their environment,” Swann says.
The current lineup, which includes drummer Avery Paul Davis (who records as electronic solo act Us.) and longtime bassist Nicholas Cody, sifted through
roughly 30 songs for “Look Together,” with Gutierrez taking a more active role in the shape and direction of the band.
Swann: “Zahira’s coming to me, ‘What do you think of these lyrics? What do you think of this melody?’ I’m like, ‘Well, that’s like a personal shot at me. But I definitely wanna be in the band with you because this is really good.’ It outweighed how much it hurt me. Instead of getting upset about this, I’m gonna take lyrics from your song, and I’m gonna cite them in my next song that I write and I give to her.”
Gutierrez: “There were times when I didn’t wanna be around him, but I was literally stuck in a van with him, and I’d be so angry. I think there was a tour where we didn’t speak for the first week or something.”
Swann: “It’s like two different sides of the story, too. I’m probably sitting there steaming. Neither of us can probably remember what it was even about.” Gutierrez: “I remember what it was about. But we don’t need to talk about that.”
The songs became a therapy session of sorts for both Gutierrez and Swann and helped them re-establish a newfound sort of camaraderie, survivors of a storm of their own creation. Davis, for his part, says it only served to help them “make stronger songs.”
And fear not: Breaking up the band, despite the hardships, was never an option.
Today, Swann and Gutierrez seem to be in a good place, comfortable and even playful with each other. They were able to reconcile as close friends and became even better writing partners. Their sprightly chemistry remains one of the band’s strongest qualities.
It’s also allowed them to explore new creative avenues. The band rethought the way it recorded, played and performed on “Look Together,” building songs together through rough recordings and laptop demos. Gutierrez insisted they go on writing retreats and team with a new producer outside Houston. They chose Ben H. Allen, known for his work with CeeLo Green, M.I.A. and Matt & Kim.
“We were re-evaluating so many things, and we were throwing things out the window and bringing things in that didn’t make sense but were working,” Gutierrez says. “For the first time, I felt like everyone in the band was extremely supportive of everything I would bring in.”
To visually capture the evolution, the band worked with evocative, emotional artist Dario Robleto on the album artwork, touching on themes of love, loss and vulnerability. They brought it to life with flowers and streamers in vibrant blues and whites — gentle nods to bridal colors for a “false wedding,” Swann says, that would never be.
“I think there were still so many sides of ourselves that we still wanted to discover. We needed to grow as artists, to grow as just humans,” he says. “We wanted to be able to understand people more and understand ourselves more. Needing to know what it was to be in love again. Needing to know what it is to get butterflies again. We don’t always articulate that. But we just needed to feel something really strong again, even at the risk of being in pain.”