Photo by Madison Carroll
“87 Gas” is the first single taken from electronic post-punk trio The Wants’ upcoming new album titled Bastard and set for release on June 13th 2025 via STTT. Evolving far beyond their acclaimed 2020 debut Container, the NYC-based trio crafts a sound that defies easy categorisation—a self-styled “No Wave / No Pop techno punk” that feels both familiar and startlingly new.
Following a successful run of sold-out UK and EU shows for Container, The Wants’ Madison Velding-VanDam and Jason Gates welcomed synthesist/bassist Yasmeen Night (of NightNight) in 2021. Together, the trio transformed The Wants’ sonic architecture into something more dangerous and sublime, where industrial rhythms collide with spectral melodies and raw punk energy dissolves into waves of digital distortion.
Bastard was deeply influenced by personal tragedy. Shortly after Christmas 2019, Velding-VanDam received news that his father had been found dead in his Michigan trailer, having been deceased for eight days. The aftermath of this discovery—finding hoarded belongings, towers of empty liquor bottles, oxycodone containers, and grime-covered childhood photos became the emotional backdrop for the album’s creation.
Today, the band releases “87 Gas”, the first single off the album :
“I wrote the first demo of this song while stranded in Pennsylvania, inspired by daily trips to Wawa.” explains Velding-VanDam, “87 Gas” is a playful reflection on youthful ambition and rebellion rubbing up against alienation and monotony. The song’s mantra and instrumentation chart the repetition of daily life. As fantasy and reality grow further apart, the tension between the two can ultimately drive you crazy. Notable on this track is Yasmeen’s bass, which is live (as opposed to the synth bass she often uses throughout the album). She incorporated Middle Eastern influences with a hypnotic bassline that lends a languidness to an otherwise taut song, whereas I sought out the ugliest notes on guitar. Like many of the tracks on the album, this tension is what ultimately brought the song together. “
Bastard is available now for preorder at the following link
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