Static, Shadows, and Indonesian Indie-Rock Perfection: Wack Finds Freedom on ‘no one’s watching’

The Vancouver indie outfit delivers a masterclass in atmospheric guitar rock, trading their early garage-rock leanings for a brilliant, nocturnal exercise in sonic restraint.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on the indie landscape for a minute, but nothing prepared me for the sheer, magnetic pull of Wack’s latest full-length effort, no one’s watching. Released through Pahsung Records, this 7-track collection strips away the scattered noise of their previous material and replaces it with a beautifully focused, late-night tension.

For me, the brilliance here lies in the band's masterfully controlled atmosphere. From the moment the rhythmically jagged opener "WazaWaZza" drops, you are pulled into a heavy, shifting terrain that owes as much to early Interpol and mid-era Radiohead as it does to the vibrant underground rock scene. Yet, just when you think they are leaning too heavily into pitch-black post-punk, the record opens up. "Connected" acts as a stunning pivot point, pairing cascading guitar lines with a rhythm section that locks into a hypnotic, steady groove.

The absolute standout moment belongs to "Heart in What? City," where sweeping, melancholic melodicism and beautifully textured production create an almost cinematic sense of urban isolation. Whether it is the driving grit of "Horses" or the hazy, slow-burn romanticism of "Ask Me Honey," Wack has achieved something incredibly rare. An album that feels expansive, adventurous, and effortlessly cool.

Dissecting the Shadows: Interview with Wack

The album is released through Pahsung Records. How did working with the label influence the production choices, or did they give you complete, isolated freedom to experiment?

Pahsung Records gave us complete freedom to do what we wanted.  Felix Fung, the engineer at Little Red Sounds, helped produce it.  Also, Jacob Schwinghammer joined us on keys and piano.

"Connected" has a hypnotic rhythmic pulse that holds the center of the album together. Can you talk about the rhythmic philosophy of the band and how your bass and drums lock into those interlocking grooves?

When we would start each new song, and before we started recording, Felix made sure Rodo (bassist) Mike (Drummer) and Eduardo (Percussionist) were playing off of each other in a way that really grooved.  If something was too on time he would let them know to ease back a bit.  It was a great starting point.  Connected specifically started with that sampled arpeggiating synth line; it’s out of time and slowly slips but because it’s sampled and because everything else is on, it helps create a push and pull.

For me, "Heart in What? City" feels like the emotional and cinematic anchor of the LP. What visual landscapes or real-world locations were you channeling when writing that specific track?

I, Pasang, always think of a fairly frantic but silly city night when listening or playing this song.  On the downtown strip or in east Vancouver when some absurdity is going on in your friend group and you can’t help but get excited by it.  The original demo was inspired by “Don’t You Know I’m in a Band” by Confidence Man.

The record balances sharp post-punk angles with a distinctly warm, analog atmosphere. How much of that sonic texture was decided during live tracking versus manipulation in the mixing phase?

Jacob used a lot of analog synths like a prophet, and string synth, sometimes through a RE-201 Space echo, in the studio.  Pasang also overdubbed Roland SH-201 parts from home. 

"Ask Me Honey" showcases a softer, more melodic side of your songwriting. Was it difficult to weave those slower, deeply intimate moments into an album that can otherwise feel quite heavy and driving?

I, Pasang, wrote Ask Me Honey in 2018 and I’ve been trying to develop it ever since.  I brought it to the band a few weeks before our studio session.  This is the only song where we changed the song structure after the studio day.  We moved things around a lot before settling on what you hear now.  To be honest we have a Dance-Edit coming out soon where we remixed, rerecorded and restructured even more.  I think this long version with space to breathe is good for the album though.  

There is a beautifully cyclical feel to how the record builds up to the closer, "Horses". When you were creating the LP, did you view it as a single narrative arc, or a series of distinct nocturnal vignettes?

The order is obviously intentional as we agree it builds well but they were treated as individual songs outside of “Connected” and “Heart in What? City”.  In our live performances we try to treat it as if we were the band equivalent of an EDM DJ.  We blend and transition between all our songs to keep the dance going.  The goal is to create an atmosphere where the audience is more interested in dancing and interacting with each other physically rather than watching a band play.  

The Vancouver indie and rock scenes are incredibly collaborative and evolving right now. How do you feel the creative community in your home scene directly shaped the sonic identity of this album?

Continuing from my previous answer, I think the Vancouver scene is great in terms of band joining to create a good show but we want to delve into that further.  We want to host dance parties where bands can just play non-stop late into the night.  We may have 2 or 3 bands that swap off but the music never stops.  One drummer starts before the previous drummer is finished and the band slowly transitions over.  We think it could be an awesome section of the Vancouver scene.  After hours venues hosting Dance bands!  - coming soon :)

The phrase no one's watching implies a sense of absolute creative freedom, but also a bit of paranoia. What does that title mean to the band on a personal level?

Oh man, good point about the paranoia!  Well there’s a whole lot going on around the world that really gets you down whether that be directly or indirectly.  Dancing is extremely cathartic and helps put that energy to a communally positive place but I feel like a lot of people are shy and don’t feel comfortable dancing in public.  But really who gives a f* who’s watching just get those bodies moving.

Translating heavily textured, atmospheric studio albums to a raw live stage can be a challenge. How are you reimagining the dense guitar layers and ambient spaces of these new tracks for your upcoming live shows?

We’ve reimagined most of the songs already just to fit our blending and transitions.  The essence of the song is still there and is complimented but we aren’t hung up on making an exact copy of the album version.  If someone wants to hear that it’s available online whenever they want!

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