"perfectly insane love's summer song"
Wes Chiller has been a California fixture in the music scene and in the surf. His latest Ladybug is a super catchy, deceptively sultry yet sad, summer time dreamy ride in your car with the windows down smelling the sea breeze type song. It is a follow up to last years "Chiller Instinct" (2019 EP) that pretty much materialized in a serendipitous way when he and his old pal and fellow musician Kyle Krone (Shys frontman and songwriter) started surfing and playing music together again. For me Ladybug represents a classic sound that jumps over more than one genre and is cross generational in it's breathe and scope. It mines old 60's folk melodies of artists like the Mamas and the Papas but also touches on the tropical punk tones of today. The bridge is very dreamy. Ladybug with it's sad underbelly but celebratory surface is more complex than you will realize upon a cursory listen and that elevates the track (for me) from a songwriting perspective. So solid, classic, just so damn good.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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The California coast, the exotic tropical shores of Hawaii, classic surf culture and rock n’ roll all conspired to exert a lasting impression on the sound of the 27 year old multi-instrumentalist singer songwriter in question; Wes Chiller, an artist that spent his youth strumming a variety of stringed instruments on the beaches between surf sessions in the sleepy Southern California towns that line the coast between Los Angeles and San Diego. Not much about the young musicians lifestyle has changed since those formative years and seemingly endless summer days that are audibly reflected in his music. The annual trips to Hawaii and Mexico along with some key musical family members, mentors and friends resulted in giving the young musician a unique perspective and an early start on finding and creating a musical voice of his own. By high school Wes Chiller distinguished himself as a gifted musician to the extent that he caught the attention of beloved indie rockers The Shys who recruited the then 17 year old to join them on a west coast tour which saw the young musician performing to sold out crowds at famed music venues like The Troubadour and the House Of Blues. This would prove to be a transformative season in the life of the young musician as it paved the way for a future in the pursuit of a musical dream.
The years that followed would see Chiller impressively earn an Ethno-musicology degree from UCLA, form his own bands with several of the campuses most talented music majors and serve a highly valuable internship at the famed Sunset Sound Recording Studios where he was privy to recording sessions with music heavy weights like Beck and The Black Keys. After a five year stint in Los Angeles Chiller settled back into the low key lifestyle of his home town of Capistrano Beach and fashioned a home studio in his back shed and began writing for no other reason than the pure joy of doing so.
Enter old friend and fellow musician Kyle Krone (the former Shys frontman and songwriter) whom Chiller remained close with since their salad days touring and sharing stages together. The two friends began surfing, hanging out and playing together again. After hearing the charmingly lo-fi demo of Chillers latest tune and now debut single “Mo Nothin” Krone heard the undeniable promise of what could be and took on the role of Producer , Engineer, Co-Writer and additional musician and the songs for what would become the debut EP “Chiller Instinct” began to materialize naturally in the respective home studios of each musician. The musical chemistry between Chiller and Krone is visceral and the tunes that followed flowed out enthusiastically as if in celebration of the creativity and good times being enjoyed by the duo. Once released the debut single (Mo Nothin) caught the attention of respected tastemakers BuzzBands LA and Indie Shuffle who praised the duo with favorable reviews and features as well as significant airplay on 88.5FM in Los Angeles. Local paper “The San Clemente Times” featured Chiller on the cover and the local music scene began to rally around the charismatic musicians. With production wrapping up on the forthcoming five song EP “Chiller Instinct” and the wind at their backs the stage is set for the flourishing career to come. Equal parts time honored rock n’ roll and underground alternative the songs that make up “ Chiller Instinct” could be described as the sun soaked salt water love child of Eagles Of Death Metal and Mac DeMarco if the two artists were stranded on a tropical island with a genre bending record collection ranging Lou Reed to Tame Impala.
Chiller represents a new era of rocker who’s free thinking, free wheeling approach inspires the listener not to sweat the small stuff, much less sweat anything in our often over stimulating modern lives and ease into the joy and optimism of celebrating what feels good and natural in the moment. The combined talents and experience of two artists and dear friends along with a low key DIY creative “in-house” approach produces a sound and songs that are as effortlessly fresh as they are time honored and infectious.
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