Since 2018, Vancouver BC’s jangle-pop meets riot-twee trio WUT have been making a local name for themselves with their joyfully heartfelt live performances. In 2020, the trio released NOW, an energetic cassette accompanied by 10 DIY music videos. These earnest and often humorous videos reflect WUT’s playful yet sincere songwriting. Recently, WUT recorded Mingling with the Thorns, their sophomore full-length album, which came out August 23rd on HHBTM Records. Mingling with the Thorns was created during two years of intermittent quarantines which caused guitarist Kaity McWhinney (Knife Pleats / Love Cuts), bassist Tracey Vath (Knife Pleats / Love Cuts), and drummer Lauren Smith (Tough Age / Jock Tears), to write songs independently, and share their ideas through countless emails, dropbox folders, and google drives. Long periods of isolation were consumed by experimentation with different arrangements, and often an idea would be re-worked over and over (and over) again. This resulted in a collection of carefully crafted pop songs that reflect the bands mutual love for c86 jangle pop and early Flying Nun Records bands. McWhinney’s longtime friend and musical collaborator, Riley (Artsick, / Burnt Palms) joins WUT on the track Your Feelings, which pushes the band into the realms of garage rock with her raw and frenetic lead guitar. On a surface level, Mingling with the Thorns may seem fun and carefree. However, a dig deeper into the album’s lyrical content draws up themes that grapple with patriarchy and late stage capitalism; specifically the struggle to find personal autonomy within these social systems.
Today we have the honour to share with you the world premiere of thier latest video, Talking To Strangers.

What They Say: “This is a video for our first single Talking to Strangers from our newest album Mingling with the Thorns, released on HHBTM Records. The low-fi, casual feel is a result of not realizing that we were actually making a music video! We were staying at a house in Calgary, Alberta, while playing Sled Island, our favourite music festival. Kaity and I like to practice together before a show in order to calm our nerves. So we usually find a back room, van, or nearby park to quickly go over whatever songs we feel rusty about. That day, we were getting ready to play an outdoor show with our friends Kerkland Jerks, and so Kaity and I put on our album in order to play along while drinking coffee and killing time. Lauren took a few photos of us through the mirror on the wall, and we thought it was cute and funny how I was sitting in the background on the couch. So we decided to film the whole song, thinking we could put a clip of it on insta or something. Afterwards, we looked at it and thought hey, this could be a music video. So, I used my fantastic imovie editing skills, trying with all my might to hold back from adding a bunch of subtitles and transition effects. We spent just over two years writing the songs for Mingling with the Thorns, and we are so incredibly honored and grateful to be able to release it on vinyl through HHBTM Records.” (Tracey)

“Talking to Strangers is about starting to date again after being in a long-term relationship. Meeting new people and trying to manage expectations around timing and communication. Intentionally working towards figuring out what you want and talking about it honestly, even if it’s something that you don’t know yet. Asking the question, talking about the thing, and experiencing your feelings as they come up without judgment. It’s about having compassion for yourself when you don’t know what you want yet, and trying to show up as honestly as possible.” (Kaity)