Category: William Tyler

When we last caught up with guitarist William Tyler, it was to commemorate Secret Stratosphere, the ripping live record he’d made with his band of compatriots, The Impossible Truth. But his new single “Flight Final” finds Tyler returning to—and moreover, expanding on—the haunted radiophonic tones of his 2020 EP New Vanitas. There’s a stark menace to the song’s opening, before a light on the horizon cracks—like that big old moon emerging from behind a shadowy cloud—in the form of a sparkly synth reverie and Tyler’s arcing waves of electric guitar.

Fresh off the release of the live album rock out Secret Stratosphere, William Tyler joins us to discuss his full band vision, discuss the last decade or so in film, and detail his fears about AI and the digital landscape.

Crash landing somewhere between the deep fried expanses of Amon Düül II and brawny riffs of Tres Hombres, “Area Code 601” presents guitarist William Tyler in a thrilling new mode: that of a feedback-drenched country prog rocker. Joined by backing band The Impossible Truth—bassist Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs, Dead Weather), drummer Brian Kotzur (Silver Jews), and Luke Schneider (Margo Price)—the song arrives alongside the announcement of a new live album, Secret Stratosphere, due out March 31st from Merge.

Just before the lockdown, filmmaker Kelly Reichardt released First Cow, the filmmaker’s seventh feature film. A slow and mediative movie, it features sounds by AD compatriot William Tyler, who recorded the soundtrack with Scott Hirsch at Echo Magic Studio. While composing and recording, Tyler and Hirsch put together a “mood board” of sounds they referenced while working. Here, Hirsch shares that mixtape, along with his thoughts about First Cow.