The Wants have always dealt in tension between punk and electronic, grit and gloss, order and chaos. But with ’87 Gas,’ the first single off their upcoming second album ‘Bastard’ (out June 13 via STTT), the NYC trio dive into something heavier, stranger, and more personal.

Since their 2020 debut ‘Container,’ the band has undergone a quiet transformation. Founders Madison Velding-VanDam and Jason Gates brought in Yasmeen Night (of NightNight) in 2021, and the trio’s sound has swerved hard into what they’re calling “No Wave / No Pop techno punk,” which basically translates to industrial rhythms, ghosted-out melodies, and basslines that hypnotize before they detonate.

The new album is rooted in grief. Just after Christmas 2019, Velding-VanDam’s father was found dead in his Michigan trailer—alone, surrounded by liquor bottles, oxycodone containers, and years of unprocessed memory. The emotional wreckage became the scaffolding for ‘Bastard.’

’87 Gas’ came out of a completely different kind of isolation. “I wrote the first demo while stranded in Pennsylvania, inspired by daily trips to Wawa,” Velding-VanDam says. The track is a slow-building spiral—obsessive, repetitive, half-serene and half-feral. “It’s a playful reflection on youthful ambition and rebellion rubbing up against alienation and monotony,” he explains. “As fantasy and reality grow further apart, the tension between the two can ultimately drive you crazy.”

Yasmeen’s live bass sets the pulse—slinky and slow, laced with subtle Middle Eastern flourishes—while Velding-VanDam’s guitar scrapes the ceiling with every ugly note he can squeeze from it. There’s a restlessness here, a kind of interior static. It’s not polished. It’s not meant to be.

‘Bastard’ is available now for pre-order at the following link!

Headline photo: Madison Carroll

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The Wants