Wild Pink’s John Ross is one of the most underrated lyricists in indie rock — or maybe he’s properly rated by those in the know and it’s just that not enough people are paying attention. The recent A Billion Little Lights is full of lines that make me say “damn,” but the first time one of his lyrics stopped me in my tracks was on Wild Pink’s self-titled debut. The song was “Wizard Of Loneliness,” and the refrain was so beautifully simple: “Calm down/ Put your phone down.”

We’ve been afforded a new opportunity to celebrate “Wizard Of Loneliness” today because Signals Midwest have covered it, substituting the original’s measured, alternately spindly and gauzy aesthetic for a faster tempo and a more unchained feeling. The Cleveland emo band has also shared a hopped-up new original called “I Used To Draw.” Both new songs were recorded with the legendary J. Robbins last fall. Here’s the band with more info:

We recorded these songs with J. Robbins at The Magpie Cage in Baltimore, MD in Nov. 2020, right around the time the U.S. voted that orange fascist out of office. “I Used To Draw” is one of our favorite newer songs and a good indicator of where our songwriting is headed. “Wizard Of Loneliness” is a great tune by Wild Pink, who are friends we’ve made through touring and one of the few bands that all four of us can agree on as being unquestionably great. Go check them out.

So…obviously it’s been a hard, weird year or so. I’d like to think that our band, when we’re not making prank phone calls and watching the Hot Dr. Pepper video on YouTube, has attempted to explore the complexity and beauty of human connection…or somethin’ like that. Signals Midwest has always kind of been a way to process and interact with what’s going on around us. Doing this band has been a beautiful and unique lens through which we have been able to see the world, and for the tangible, in-person element of that to have disappeared over the last year has been rough.

The upside of all of this is that it has given us time to collect some thoughts and ideas, set up a bunch of microphones, and get some songs out of our heads and into the world. There are a bunch more coming, but we wanted to make sure we got this out as soon as we could–as a reminder that we’re still here, there’s still a lot of work to do, and that our global community of friends and peers, while it may look different right now, still very much exists.

Hear “I Used To Draw” and “Wizard Of Loneliness” below.