Some things just come into your life at the right moment. In this case, it’s the music of Wade Easy.
Through a hazy concoction of nicotine and liquor providing a subtle catharsis, the Morgantown, West Virginia-based songwriter is the architect of music for solitude. Each note, sinking deep into the bones. Easy’s music frames less complicated times, when the distraction of smart phones and social media didn’t existent. When art meant more.
While some may be quick to draw a line to The Brian Jonestown Massacre or the The Jesus and Mary Chain, there’s something more secluded about Easy’s songs. As he sings on Waves, the excellent closing to track from his 2025 debut, Sleeping With the Sun On, “I live my life like a satellite”, it underlines the carefree nature of Easy’s songs. A refreshing take in a world that comes at you in a flash.
Easy’s follow-up Sea of Night, arrives just under nine months Sleeping With the Sun On. Again mastered by Carl Saff (Holy Sons, Water Damage et al), Easy doesn’t stray too far on his sophomore release, simply because he doesn’t need to. His brand of scorched-earth Americana, frayed and torn with a deep narcotic edge.
From the start, the hushed Where the River Sinks exposes the aloofness in Easy’s songs. So too Dead Moons and later on the eponymous track – mellow soundscapes that drift through the desert night sky. There’s more gentle roaming, too. The back porch sway of Reviver and the sepia-toned Sweet Thing, taking you to peaceful, secluded places. Finishing strong with the electric rush of The Bloody Feet of Atomic Beasts and the sundown swoon of Sailor’s Warning, Sea of Night sees Easy going from strength-to-strength.
When two records are released in such a short space of time, often the follow-up fails to replicate the magic of its predecessor. That’s not the case here. Both records, having plenty of space and time to breathe, carefully plotted and executed.
Easy is on form and while a man of few words, his persona isn’t an act. This is someone who likes to let his songs do the talking, and on Sea of Night the results speak for themselves. Last week, Easy answered some questions about Sea of Night, his past and what lies ahead.
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Sun 13: Did you grow up in a musically inclined family?
Wade Easy: “Not exactly, but there was art around. My ma loved poetry, and my dad drove me around blaring Zeppelin. I always wanted to play guitar, but I was too stubborn to let anybody teach me. I liked the magic of picking something up and not really knowing what I was doing. Still do.”
S13: There’s not much information about you out there, which is so refreshing these days. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
WE: “Born in Baltimore. Found myself in Florida. Then across the pond to Poland. And eventually Morgantown, West Virginia, where I met the love of my life. Had a guitar with me through all of it. Played in bands. Wrote songs. Got sober.”
S13: Sea of Night swiftly follows Sleeping With the Sun On. Were they written during the same sessions?
WE: “Separate sessions. I don’t really write in a steady way. It comes in fits. I’ll tear through a record, write it five different ways in a week, then not touch the damn thing for months. I wrote most of Sea of Night over last winter.”
S13: What was the most important aspect you wanted to capture with Sea of Night?
WE: “That hour when the night is almost over but the day hasn’t done any good yet. Everything is quiet. Almost peaceful. But not quite right. That’s where I wanted the record to live.”
S13: The title is interesting. Had you written the song before deciding to name the album?
WE: “Other way around. The title came first. [I] liked it too much to leave it on the cover. [I] gave it a song.”
S13: It really does feel like an album that has an AM quality about it. Was it written in the early hours?
WE: “Late nights mostly. Sometimes before coffee. Everything sounds a little loose before the day starts hammering things in place.”
Wade Easy - Sea of NightS13: Where the River Sinks feels like a homage to Morgantown. How much do you think the city has influenced your work?
WE: “There’s so much natural beauty hidden here. The river. The hills. The fog. Roads curling off into nowhere. Morgantown doesn’t really show off. I like that. It gets into the songs quietly.”
S13: Regarding your process, are there any necessities you need in order to create?
WE: “Enough time to follow the wrong thing until it starts sounding right.”
S13: Do you work on music every day?
WE: “Not every day. I don’t like forcing it too much. Sometimes I need to walk away for a bit.”
S13: How much do you think your music reflects your personality?
WE: “Probably more than I’d like to admit. But I’m not always a moody bastard. Just often enough.”
S13: There’s so much music out there these days, that it’s so hard to get noticed. Do you consider yourself an outlier, or are these things that you don’t really think about?
WE: “I don’t think about it. I just make the music I want to hear.”
S13: With these last two albums, it really does feel like you’re just getting started. What’s next?
WE: “I’m working on a new record right now. It’s more in the bones.”
Sea of Night is out now. Purchase from Bandcamp.
