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New York City based Americana outfit, The Wonder Licks, known for their raw energy and kaleidoscopic sound, are back with “Beatitudes,” the first single from their upcoming album.
Equal parts prayer and protest, “Beatitudes” tells the story of a wanderer on the edge — a soul burned out from trying to live right in a world that keeps moving the goalposts. Built around wistful guitars and a rhythm section that feels unstoppable, “Beatitudes” channels the band’s signature blend of grit and transcendence.
“The song is a reflection on faith and futility,” says frontman Jacob Wunderlich. “It’s like a hymn for people who still want to believe in something, even after the lights have gone out.”
The Wonder Licks formed in New York after Wunderlich’s Nashville years led him to drummer Tyler Reina, through a housing lottery gone right. Together they formed the psych-rock band Vega Maestro. After meeting bassist Sammy Westervelt, they became The Wonder Licks, releasing their 2023 debut K, Ok, O.K., OKAY! and the follow-up live album Life at 7 kHz.
Critics are calling their sound “imaginative and new…without a twinge of replication” and “folky new wave…like cartwheeling through the woods.” Their upcoming album, Simping for Big Toilet, due in 2026, sets to expand their universe — balancing irony and sincerity, spirit and static, with “Beatitudes” as their first bright flare from the record: soulful, searching, and defiantly alive.