New Zealand's highest streaming rock band, Written By Wolves, have released their new EP The Collab Project / / Secrets on September 17th. This ep features a selection of 5 songs from their debut album Secrets to be reimagined and gain guest vocals from Becks, Sydney Rae White, Trenton Woodley, and powerhouses Kellin Quinn and Sonny Sandoval.

The Collab Project is about more than just cool reimagined songs with awesome other artists contributing. It is about breaking the stigma of mental health. Frontman, Mikey Murphy, has said that this is just the first step for this project, and that it will always be a part of the band. Mikey was a guest on the Musicians For Mental Health Podcast where he talked about breaking the stigma, finding community through music, and much more.

The opening track Better Luck Next Time which features Trenton Woodley of Hands Like Houses. This was such a power play for the kick off track, its a high energy full of driving heavy drums and beautifully melodic vocals.

Next we have Secrets. “The best secrets are the ones you don’t keep” is such a powerful message. The song is a very high energy track and is no doubt going to be a fan favorite. Add in the legendary vocals of Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. and you are in for quite the ride. Another key reminder in the song is the line “Everybody’s got something they’re hiding”

(Our Stories) is an incredibly heavy track, not in the musical sense. But this track is a spoken word track of contributors telling their stories, and their mental health battles. There is a beautifully haunting piano chord that plays underneath the stories. This particular track may be a little triggering to some as the stories are raw.

Following that you have Lucky Stars which features Sydney Rae White of The Wild Things. It’s a great slow melodic song that plays like a conversation from a friend, asking you questions, sitting with you in the dark and keeping you company. “You shouldn’t need a song to save your life; the world should care enough for you to feel like you belong right here” is such a heavy feeling.

(Hope) comes up next and we are back to another spoken word track but this time instead of focusing on the “negative” it is a reassurance that there is more past the darkness, there is light around us, there is a chance to heal and to begin to live again. A reminder that there is beauty all around us, even when the rain is coming down.

The lead single from this EP was this track, Help Me Through The Night featuring the iconic Kellin Quinn. Hitting the listener with sort of their take on a mashup of a power ballad and a traditional rock song. The track has gained over 300K streams on spotify alone since being released as the single. The distinct vocals of Kellin will draw in any listener that has ever heard him to see what is going on here because of how recognizable his voice is.

The final track on the album is one of the most beautiful tracks on the album, but also that is out there today. Forever & Always features guest vocals from Becks and this is a traditional call and respond ballad with mirroring harmonies. “If this is the end of the world, then I want to spend it with you" is really the goal for anyone, and this doesn’t even have to be in a romantic sense of the statement. At the end of the day, at the end of it all, we all just want someone there that wants to spend it with us. Becks has some high belting notes in this song that will give you chills.

I am so happy that Written By Wolves have taken this step, that they are using their platform to bring to light mental health struggles, and that they are doing it in a way that is natural and relatable to not only them, but other artists and listeners. I think there is a track on here for everyone, most people will find a track that they relate to, and those that don’t may take away something from the stories and reassurance tracks. The band has also announced that this will not be the last time they do this, it is not a one off EP. There is more to come with The Collab Project and I highly encourage everyone to go give the band a follow and see what is next. I also want to thank the guest vocalists for being a part of this because it is not easy for everyone to talk about or be associated with mental health topics.

The Collab Project / / Secrets Tracklisting:

1. Better Luck Next Time ft. Trenton Woodley

2. Secrets ft. Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D.

3. (Our Stories)

4. Lucky Stars ft. Sydney Rae White of The Wild Things

5. (Hope)

6. Help Me Through The Night ft. Kellin Quinn

7. Forever & Always ft. Becks
   

Written By Wolves on Social Media:

Website: https://writtenbywolves.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writtenbywolves/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/writtenbywolves/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/writtenbywolves

Mental Health Resources:
Suicide Prevention Hotline - 800.273.8255
Crisis Textline - TEXT “HOME” to 741741
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