From pop country to indie pop, Jansen Hogan has already had an interesting musical journey. What began as a solo act for the now-college senior has morphed into Indianapolis-based band THE WLDLFE, which is poised to make quite a few waves in the pop-rock world. The transition began, as many do, with heartbreak. “I went through a breakup, and it felt like a starting over point for me,” says Hogan. “I wanted to do something different. My old stuff was wasn’t the avenue I wanted to continue to go down.”
“It seems like a lot of people place a stigma around Top 40 or pop music, and like to hate it, even though there’s no reason to,” he continues about his admiration for pop music and decision to pursue a career in the genre. “I’ve always loved Katy Perry, big pop anthems, stuff like that. For me, I wanted to find a way to break that stigma. I’m not the first to try to do it, but that’s what was true to me. The solo stuff, I realized that wasn’t really me. I think a lot of people stick to the same kind of lyrical content in pop music, and I think we’re trying to write lyrics that maybe don’t push boundaries a ton, but present a new lyrical flavor that’s not always about the same old stuff,” he continues. “Love is a topic that will always come up, but rarely do we talk about anything super sexualized. Our next single is called ‘Real Ones,’ one of my favorite songs we’re releasing, and it refers to the friends you have that are there when you’re old and grey. There aren’t a lot of love songs out there about friendships.”
The band released a single on Valentine’s Day, called “I Don’t Mind,” a delicious taste of the poptastic goodness to come, with even more on the way. “We wrote too many songs we believed in to fit on one EP,” he laughs. “It has shifted the strategy for how we want to roll out the new music. We’re going to put out five more singles until this summer, and hope to release a full-length in the fall.”
Until then, be sure to check back in with THE WLDLFE for “Real Ones,” which will hit the digisphere on March 23rd. If you’re in the Music City, you can catch the band live at The High Watt on March 1st, click HERE for tickets and show information.
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