Hot on the heels of their 13th consecutive #1 release No Brakes, The Wolfe Brothers are back with another killer single Anybody Ever, penned with the two-time Grammy nominated James T Slater (Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Carrie Underwood). The second single under global recording deal with BMG, from their yet-to-be-released fifth studio album, Anybody Ever is a vibrant retro track that will have fans singing along.
After seeing The Wolfe Brothers play a showcase at BMG’s offices in Nashville, they were invited to James T Slater’s house for a writing session. “We sat around the grand piano and started jamming out some ideas,” says Tom Wolfe. “James is a serious player, so it was really cool to just watch him work. I believe Nick had the initial idea for a bit of a chorus. I can remember sitting in front of the coffee table and seeing an Elton John songbook and flipping it over and reading all the great songs on the back. Then I looked up to my left and on the wall, starring me down from the other room is a Tim McGraw platinum album. I starting throwing out some ideas and that’s where the lines ‘when you hear Tiny Dancer, you always sing along, you’re crazy on tequila, you love your Tim McGraw’… Thanks Tim!”
Recording Anybody Ever was a bit of an experience in itself as well. Thanks to COVID-19, The Wolfe Brothers’ plan to head into the studio to record the next batch of songs changed. Initially they started recording the track in a studio in Sydney, but when the band was forced into isolation back home in Tasmania, they decided to continue recording the album in Nick Wolfe’s home studio. It has been a blessing, with Nick taking charge of the songs and the brothers working together to bring the sounds they wanted to fruition.
“This song actually changed quite dramatically from the way it was first imagined,” says Nick. “What started out as a 70’s-ish chill-type tune got a trip in a DeLorean to the following decade track, ended up as we know it now – an anthemic 80’s-style jam. In the context of the rest of the forthcoming album, without giving too much away, it made sense to make it feel more from the cassette-era than from the vinyl-era, but more on that to come! I think also we were watching a lot of the show Stranger Things during the recording process and that may have seeped in. It’s definitely a little bit quirky and we could have gone a lot safer with the production, but hey, what’s the fun in that?!”
Picking the next single wasn’t a difficult choice – Anybody Ever stood out to Nick and Tom. “I’ve always thought the song was extremely catchy melodically,” says Nick. “Lyrically, I love what it says too. The whole thought process behind the writing for this forthcoming album was to make an entire album we could play live, anytime, anywhere, to anyone and have it work.”
For Tom, it was also about giving The Wolfe Brothers fans something completely new. “For us, it has really been about trying to find the new songs and sounds that we haven’t explored before,” he says. “I think if you listen to our musical journey – from album one to the current songs – you can hear a lot of growth in the overall sound and songwriting. For us, Anybody Ever has a fun 80’s influence, a time in music we love and do not think we’ve drawn upon in previous albums. I’m excited for Wolfe Brothers’ fans to embrace this song.”
Fans of The Wolfe Brothers have already been embracing the band’s new music. The last single No Brakes is still on the charts and sat at the #1 spot for a massive seven weeks – a chart record – as well as in the Top 20 for 22 weeks. Tom says they are overwhelmed by the support. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he says. “The majority of this year we could not tour or play live shows to share new music. It has been incredible to be able to celebrate new material and know that so many fans are embracing it.”
Nick says they can’t thank fans enough for embracing their new music. “We’re still blown away by the way No Brakes has been and continues to be received,” he says. “For a minute there when the pandemic struck, we didn’t know if it was ever going to come out. We’re so glad we pushed through and that so many people are loving it, we really hope you all love Anybody Ever too.
The Wolfe Brothers new single Anybody Ever was released to radio on Friday 23rd October 2020. The band will also be releasing an animated music video for Anybody Ever. For more information, please visit www.thewolfebrothers.com