Wildling is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band was formed in 2014 by members Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya, who were originally signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as the band ''Test Your Reflex'' from 2004-2009, and also recorded music under the name ''No Country'' as well as ''Low Shoulder'' (2009-2014).

History

Wildling is the current name for the musical collaboration involving key members Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya. They have been recording music and touring under different band names since 2004.

''Test Your Reflex'' (2004-2009)

The original group was composed of five musicians (Ryan Levine, Andrew Ampaya, Sal Cortez, Ryan Clark, and Augustin Sanchez) of various backgrounds all between the ages of 19-21 at the time. As ''Test Your Reflex'', they started out in the rehearsal rooms of a teen center in Thousand Oaks,

. They came together in early 2004. Having played in various electronic and

rock bands A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

since

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

, lead singer Levine decided he wanted to try something new. Inspired by classic albums like U2's '' The Joshua Tree'',

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's '' So'' and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

's ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

'', after experimenting in his garage, Levine gradually developed the sound that would become ''Test Your Reflex''. It started when Levine met

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Sal Cortez through an ex-girlfriend. The two then began searching for others to join them. After many months they finally found

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

RC (a.k.a. Ryan Clark), a former guitarist of

punk band R.O.H. Then came keyboardist Andrew Ampaya, a classically trained

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

with similar musical influences. With innovative and like-minded

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Agustin Sanchez joining shortly thereafter, the first and final line up of ''Test Your Reflex'' was created. The band's debut release was '' The Burning Hour'' (released April 24, 2007) on

. The album has been described as having an 80s sound with hints of U2,

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

, and

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

as well as

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

and

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

. The band featured on the MySpace Tribute to the Smashing Pumpkins album released on MySpace Records and distributed in the July 2007 issue of

SPIN Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

. They liken themselves to other bands on the Pumpkins tribute, such as The Bravery. All tracks appeared on each band's MySpace page from May 14, 2007. ''Test Your Reflex'' opened for

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

on July 22, 2007 at

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Before that, from March 22, 2007 to May 12, 2007, ''Test Your Reflex'' toured the US with the Detroit-based band Electric Six. Television performances include two appearances with

Carson Daly Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...

. On June 22, 2007 the band appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly and the following month performed on the Carson Daly show (aired July 12, 2007). The complete list of media coverage/online releases for ''Test Your Reflex'' was as follows: * Last Call with Carson Daly - July 12, 2007 *

Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

Ones To Watch for May - May 7, 2007 *

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

Digital Jukebox – April 19, 2007 *

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

"Buzz Bands" – April 19, 2007 *

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

Hear Music First – April 17, 2007 *Artist Direct – April 12, 2007 *Pre-RCA Release of "Pieces of the Sun" on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

– April 10, 2007 *

/SPIN.com "Artist of the Day" - January 5, 2007 *

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

's Pop Candy Blog – December 5, 2006 Their song "Thinking of You" was featured as the background music of a radio commercial for Michelob Golden Light beer, heard in the Twin Cities and other markets in the midwest where the beer is sold.

''No Country'' and ''Low Shoulder'' (2009-2014)

With the conclusion of their contract with RCA Records, in 2009, the group changed its name to No Country. Also in 2009, two members of the band (Ryan Levine and Sal Cortez) appeared as members of the fictional band ''Low Shoulder'' in the 2009 film '' Jennifer's Body''. The band performed the songs "Through the Trees" (written by Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya) and "One More Night" (written by Ryan Levine) as well as Blondie's "

In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...

" in the film. The film's soundtrack includes the song "Through the Trees" by ''Low Shoulder''.

''Wildling'' (2014-present)

In November 2014, Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya formed a new five-member band with the name "Wildling", made up of new members: songwriter and producer Erik Janson on guitar, previous member of indie California beach band Cayucas Casey Wojtalewicz on drums, and Ryan's younger brother Justin Levine on bass. Wildling performed their first show at The Satellite in Los Angeles. They were immediately invited to headline The Satellite's residency in January 2015, and the next week, they were invited to support Young the Giant, who had attended the show. A few months later they performed in Austin for

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

, and by summer 2015, they were recording their debut EP. The band has worked with different producers on different songs, including

Doug Boehm Doug Boehm (born November 4, 1969)''U.S. Public Records Index'', Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American record producer and sound engineer who specializes predominantly in the rock music genre and has worked ...

(

French Kicks French Kicks are an American indie rock group from New York City, United States. Their sound is a mix of garage rock, post-punk, and modded pop. History Three of the original four band members, bassist Jamie Krents, vocalist/drummer Nick Stumpf, ...

Dr. Dog Dr. Dog is an American rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass guitar), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy ( rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), Eric Slick ( drums), an ...

), Caleb Shreve (

Phantogram Phantogram may refer to: *Phantogram (band) *Phantogram (optical illusion) Phantograms, also known as Phantaglyphs, Op-Ups, free-standing anaglyphs, levitated images, and book anaglyphs, are a form of optical illusion. Phantograms use perspectiv ...

Bear Hands Bear Hands is an American post-punk and indie rock band, consisting of Dylan Rau (vocals and guitar), Val Loper (bass), Ted Feldman (guitar), and TJ Orscher (drums). Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, United States, and formed in 2006, the band sig ...

), Ted Gowans ( Tegan & Sara), and Ben Greenspan (

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

). Ryan sent lead single "Hummingbird," directly to DJ

Kat Corbett Kat Corbett is an American disc jockey, voice artist, screenwriter and music supervisor. A DJ for SiriusXM since 2016, she hosts the ''Locals Only'' radio show on KROQ. She was the mid-day DJ on KROQ from 2005 to 2020. Corbett has done voice ...

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

, who added it to the regular rotation on her show, "Locals Only." The debut EP was released in October 2015. Wildling is signed to Warner Bros. Records.

Discography

As ''Wildling''

Wildling EP

# Hummingbir

(YouTube) " The Song is Available o
Spotify
" 8 October 2014 (

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

) # Doesn't Really Matte

(

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

) 2015 # We Go All The Wa

) 2015 # Wolve

) 2015 # Anywhere We Ar

) 2015 # Palindrom

) 2015

Non-EP Singles

"Like You Do" ft. Grace Kell

)

(iTunes) 2014
" Heart of Gold (Neil Young song), Heart of Gold" (

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

cover

)

(iTunes) 2016

As ''No Country''

Singles
"Right Time" on MySpace, July 14, 2010
"Faithful" on MySpace, July 14, 2010

As ''Low Shoulder''

Single
"Through the Trees" on the Jennifer's Body

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

, August 25, 2009

As ''Test Your Reflex''

Albums
'' The Burning Hour'' (

) April 24, 2007 - U.S.

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers peak No. 46

Chart Positions A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Compilations
MySpace Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins, Helio Presents: The Smashing Pumpkins Tribute CD, July 2007 Videos
''Pieces of the Sun'' (

)

References

External links

Wildling page
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Official No Country page
on MySpace
Official Test Your Reflex page
on MySpace {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 2014 Musical groups from Ventura County, California 2014 establishments in California