Cardiff’s own indie-gaze explorers Wylderness are back with their brand new EP ‘Safe Mode,’ now streaming everywhere. Drawing inspiration from the tech-soaked optimism of the ‘90s, ‘Safe Mode’ reimagines Silicon Valley’s software dreams through the overcast lens of South Wales—a digital mirage drenched in fuzz, reverb, and nostalgia.
Known for their kaleidoscopic blend of shoegaze, dreampop, and jagged indie, Wylderness have built a reputation for crafting soundscapes that shimmer and sting in equal measure. On ‘Safe Mode,’ they’re in top form—taking cues from the likes of Ride, Sonic Youth, DIIV, and Yo La Tengo, but always pulling it through their own haze-soaked filter.
The EP’s closer, What Happens To The Rain, feels like two songs stitched together under one grey Welsh sky. The first half channels a jangly Real Estate energy, all chiming guitars and introspection. Then, things slip into something more psychedelic—a hypnotic Brian Jonestown Massacre-inspired spiral. It’s a meditation on memory and distortion, revisiting the places of your past only to find they don’t quite fit the way you remember them. “Seeing faces you had forgotten / Crying for no one / Recollections made of concrete / Fade in the sun.” It’s nostalgic, it’s disorienting, and it’s beautiful.
This is just the latest evolution for a band that’s quietly built a cult following. Their 2018 debut caught the ears of BBC’s Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens, while On A Dais even made it onto the US version of Shameless. Their 2022 follow-up, ‘Big Plans for a Blue World,’ expanded their sonic palette—adding vintage synths, clarinet, and deeper layers—and landed on Far Out Magazine’s Best Albums of the Year.
Now in 2025, ‘Safe Mode’ sees the band—Ian, Jim, Ben, Dan, and Harri—working with producers Andrew Sanders and longtime collaborator Rory Attwell to push their sound even further into the digital ether.
For fans of woozy pop, cascading distortion, and songs that feel like flickering VHS memories, ‘Safe Mode’ is well worth a deep dive.
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‘Safe Mode’ is out now, independently released on all major digital platforms.
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