Single Review: The Wheel Workers “S.O.S.”

Steeped in an avant-garde yet, particularly spacey groove, the beat in The Wheel Workers’ new single “S.O.S.” is one of the song and music video’s most sterling elements, but certainly not the only reason I’d recommend it this October. From the vocals to the string play to the percussion that holds everything together, even the most foundational of components in “S.O.S.” is laced with catharsis. The Wheel Workers are on a mission to relieve the stress of a mundane modern lifestyle in their latest release, and though this is only the second official single I’ve heard from them, next to the gorgeous “Harbor,” they sound as swaggering and confident in their performance as a far more well-seasoned act would.

The music video for “S.O.S.” doesn’t just deliver the verses to the audience; it colorizes the narrative with thrill-provoking imagery that lines up with the mood of the music perfectly. This isn’t a slideshow of generic imagery we’ve come to see in every visualizer lately; in this video, the different frames are meant to be as stimulating as any of the melodies that inspire them are. The complementary textures and tones here perhaps exemplify what it means to produce content of rich duality better than initially intended, and for critics like myself, it’s features like this that inarguably give “S.O.S.” a big edge over the competition this month.

The Wheel Workers aren’t necessarily trying to be profound, but they’re nevertheless submitting a really powerful piece of material here, much as I can imagine their goal was when getting into the recording studio.

Based on the strength of their performance in this single and its video, I don’t think there should be any debate as to whether or not The Wheel Workers could shred through this and other similarly stylized works in a live setting. They’ve got so much heart for the story being told here, and a personal connection with the harmonies they create together, that it’s obvious even to the casual pop fan how deep their love of the music goes. On stage, this could lead to some really exciting jams, and perhaps even the creation of some rather postmodern and genre-bending content on the fly – which tends to be some of the best work that a band can come up with in an environment outside of the studio, that is.

I didn’t know about The Wheel Workers before getting a copy of both “Harbor” and “S.O.S.” for myself, but I’m intrigued by the notion of what they could do with other material of this vein in the future. There aren’t a lot of bands that can record a crossover song with as much gusto as this crew does without inviting a little bit of indulgent camp into the mix, but for The Wheel Workers, taking a piece of music like “S.O.S.” and making their own doesn’t appear to have been difficult at all. They have great chemistry together and a potential future that could reward listeners with more than a few well-needed feel-good moments like this one.

Jessica Davisson