Premiere: The Raised By Wolves’ Poptastic ‘Gorgeously Yours’

By Justyn Withay

With a new single, D.C. duo The Raised By Wolves dips into '80s pop.
With a new single, D.C. duo The Raised By Wolves dips into '80s pop.

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“Gorgeously Yours,” the hyperactive new single from pop-rock duo The Raised By Wolves, is overflowing with musical ideas. According to member Ben Eskin, that’s intentional.

“We definitely looked to add lots of textures and sounds to make it all come together,” says Eskin, who lives in D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood. He handled guitars, bass, synths, and backing vocals on the song. “We added some pots and pans, too,” chimes in Bethesda’s Dusty Durston, who took care of drums and lead vocals.

This kitchen-sink approach packs “Gorgeously Yours” with wild swings, pendulating between gang vocals, blasts of noise and a hook straight out of Bernard Sumner’s playbook. But Durston and Eskin, both 24, maintain strict control over the chaos.

“We experiment plenty while recording, but we generally have a pretty accurate idea of what we want a song to sound like when we start,” says Eskin. Durston agrees. “I think we’re very conscious of always trying our best to make songs that are dynamic and don’t lean on one thing for too long.”

Like the production, the track’s lyrics are about making sense of a big idea.

“This song touches on a desire to be universally liked, growing up, realizing the farce in that, and letting go of it,” says Durston.

“Gorgeously Yours” will appear on The Raised By Wolves’ upcoming project, expected out this summer. Surprisingly, Durston and Eskin achieved the big sound working out of a basement.

“It gives us the freedom to be as meticulous as we want,” Durston says, “because we’re not worried about studio rates or frustrating some third party.”

The Raised By Wolves play Black Cat July 15.