AFTER supporting Walking On Cars at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham last month, Oh Wonder will take to the stage at Dublin’s Academy on Wednesday, November 1.
Their second single, ‘High On Humans’ is lifted from the duo’s forthcoming second album, ‘Ultralife’, which is out in July through Island Records.
Ultralife is both Oh Wonder’s extraordinary second album and their debut proper.
Its eponymously-titled predecessor, released in late 2015, was a collection of songs they had posted online at the rate of one a month, which millions of listeners fell in love with, turning London-based Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West into reluctant pop stars.
They have played sold out shows in London, Paris, New York, and LA just one week after their debut album release which marked the beginning of the band’s touring career.
The album has now sold over 500,000 copies worldwide and amassed in excess of 500 million streams.
Josephine explained the inspiration behind the new song: ‘High On Humans’ was inspired by a tube journey.
“On the way back from Heathrow Airport, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two girls who worked in a sunglasses shop at the terminal.
“They were happily going back and forth discussing their favourite foods.
“When one girl declared that she didn’t like avocados, I rudely interrupted and said ‘what do you mean you don’t like avocados?!’
“We then proceeded to have a 20-minute conversation about hot sauces and condiments, and the three of us exited the carriage high on adrenaline, having connected with strangers.
“I then went on to talk to a man who had knocked all his teeth out and was covered in blood.
“It created a carriage-wide conversation about injuries and operations.
“Everyone’s mood seemed lifted by this random interaction with the unknown.
On the way back home from the station, I sang ‘I’m getting high on humans’ into voice notes on my phone, and sat down with Anthony to fully write it the next day.
“This song celebrates the potential to ‘get high’ and feel liberated by talking to strangers,” Josephine adds: “It’s something we all fear, and something we should all do more of.”
