Wild Rivers, the platinum-selling indie trio, returns with their highly anticipated album, Never Better. The album, recorded in the vibrant landscapes of Joshua Tree, CA, showcases the band’s evolution after nearly a decade in the music industry. Drawing inspiration from their experiences with burnout and mental health, the group has crafted an album that reflects their most authentic selves. In this exclusive interview with FAULT Magazine, Wild Rivers opens up about the creative process behind Never Better, the influence of their surroundings, and how they’ve reignited their passion for music.

FAULT Magazine: Can you describe how your experiences with burnout and mental health influenced your songwriting and recording process for this album?

Wild Rivers: Being a musician is the best job in the world, but the lifestyle makes it really difficult to do the things that are known to be good for your brain—consistent schedules, good sleep, healthy food, exercise, etc. We used to believe that saying yes to everything and never taking time off was the path to success and happiness. Now that we’re almost 10 years into being a band, we’ve learned that mapping out intentional downtime to live life, being more selective with the opportunities we pursue, and finding more of a balance allows us to access more of the joy in everything we do. It also creates space for ideas to flow. Ideally, we’d like to be doing this for the rest of our lives, so avoiding burnout has become a big priority in recent years. We’ve also realized that happiness often requires intentional effort. We’ve been having a lot of internal conversations about what that looks like for us and adjusting our approach to accommodate that. When discussing how we wanted to make the album, we decided that working in a dark studio where you’re paying by the hour felt stressful and limiting, so we rented a big, bright Airbnb in the desert for a month. We brought all our instruments and recording gear, and it was basically one giant sleepover. We’d cook meals, exercise together, and play video games between takes. It felt like being teenagers again, and hopefully, the spirit of that made its way into the recordings because it was definitely the most fun we’ve had making an album.

FAULT Magazine: Was there a change in your process for this album compared with your previous releases?

Wild Rivers: We wanted this record to be a snapshot of the time we wrote it. Our second record, Sidelines, was made over the course of almost six years across numerous different studios, mostly due to the pandemic. We’re so proud of that record, but it felt difficult to feel as connected to the songs when they were released because we felt like we’d become different people since writing them. We tried to avoid this with Never Better by writing all the songs in a two-month period and giving ourselves a month to record. This didn’t leave room for a lot of overthinking and forced us to trust ourselves and each other to make gut decisions without looking back.

FAULT Magazine: You recorded Never Better in Joshua Tree, CA. How did the unique environment influence the creative process and the final sound of the album?

Wild Rivers: Some of the words we cited when describing what we wanted the album to be were “bold,” “bright,” and “clear.” We hadn’t planned on recording in the desert, but looking back, the bright blues, oranges, and yellows of the desert environment definitely reflected what we were trying to channel in the songs.

FAULT Magazine: The album touches on rediscovering the joy of making music together. Was there a specific moment that reignited this passion for music?

Wild Rivers: There were many moments! A lot of the changes we made for this album were reactions to things that hadn’t been working before. I’ve talked a little bit about this already, but a big part of rediscovering the joy was making the conscious choice to prioritize it. Sometimes, joy is always accessible, but it can be hard to see it and find a way to reach out to grab it. The act of recognizing it alone can increase your awareness of it. Plus, constant internal check-ins with ourselves and each other—are we enjoying this? Do we know what the common goal is? How can we support each other and play to our strengths here? One specific moment I remember was playing “Anyways, I Love You” for the first time as a band when we were in our Airbnb in the desert. We decided to record that one live off the floor, and we were all like giddy little kids, feeling the pressure of the live take. When we finally nailed it, we were so excited. It was very pure.

FAULT Magazine: Thinking ‘Bout Love was such a large hit. Do you ever feel yourself using its success as a benchmark for future releases to beat?

Wild Rivers: Thanks! We’ve always been competitive with ourselves, so it’s definitely motivating to have a song connect with so many people.

FAULT Magazine: What’s one message you hope to convey with this album?

Wild Rivers: Life is short. Make time for love. Love yourself. Love your friends. Make things that inspire you. Have fun.

FAULT Magazine: What’s been the most challenging aspect of your musical journey so far?

Wild Rivers: Mostly just accepting that this career can mean being away from friends and family for a long time. We miss some big important milestones like weddings and seeing nieces and nephews grow up. It takes a lot of sacrifice, but we also get to gain some of the coolest and most unique experiences that anyone could have. So, it’s a bittersweet trade-off, and we try to bring our loved ones along for the ride as much as we can.

FAULT Magazine: What is your FAULT?

Wild Rivers: Literally nothing. Ever. We’re perfect.