Wagging, the latest export from Asheville, North Carolina’s flourishing indie rock scene, return with their self-titled sophomore album, a kinetic 9-track effort that foregrounds tangled guitar textures and adept rhythm section arrangements without concealing their candy-coated melodies and intricate lyricism. Recorded at the increasingly in-demand Drop of Sun studios with producer Alex Farrar (MJ Lenderman, Hotline TNT, Snail Mail), it’s a big swing that finds the band presenting a dialed-in, muscular rendition of their sound, indebted to guitar pop heavyweights like Rilo Kiley and The Breeders while remaining unmistakably their own. Wagging arrives October 23 via Having Fun / We Are Busy Bodies.
The group’s origins lie in the depths of the 2020 lockdown, when bandleader Alison Antaramian purchased a guitar and began to write songs for the first time. After a year of woodshedding, she recruited Newt Pal and Mark Capon to round out a full band setup. The trio performed under the moniker Gummy until Pal’s departure in 2023, after which the remaining duo recruited married couple Emily Easterly (drums) and J Seger (guitar), rechristening themselves Wagging. In 2024, the group released their debut LP, My Own Private Rodeo, to acclaim, including a surprise bout of YouTube popularity for the single “Marigold.” On this album, they pursued a stripped-down sound, hoping to approximate their live act at the time. As the material that became Wagging took shape, however, Antaramian and the band envisioned a bolder, more ornamented direction for their new material.
Initially, the sessions were to take place at Emily and J’s home studio, JEm Yard. After testing out two cuts from the record, “Hell” and “Big Shadows,” the band felt something lacking in the energy, incongruent with the big sound they imagined. They sent the recordings to Alex Farrar, an Asheville local with growing notoriety as a producer for some of contemporary indie’s biggest names. Initially just looking for feedback, Farrar instead offered to record the entire album. Wagging accepted, decamping to Drop of Sun studios for four marathon days of recording: two for performing the tracks live, the remainder for vocals and overdubs.
Antaramian’s lyrical bent amplifies the already clever songwriting, resulting in a deeply layered set of tracks that strongly reward multiple listens. All in all, it’s another sign that Asheville ought to join the likes of Athens, Minneapolis, and Chapel Hill as one of America’s premier exporters of underground rock records. This one stands toe-to-toe with the best of them.
Wagging have shared the stage with artists like Of Montreal, Sharp Pins, and Styrofoam Winos.
Influences/FFO: Rilo Kiley, The Breeders, Liz Phair, Big Thief, Girlpool, The Cranberries.