Born and raised in NY, Max Vanderwolf began his career in NYC, playing postpunk, hardcore, various psychedelic resurgences, improvisational downtown noise/jazz, acid-jazz, scum-rock, anti-folk, metal and hair-metal. Notably contributing to King of Kings and Naked Sun.
In 2002, he moved to London and became the vocalist and creative-force behind the epic London band Last Man Standing, whose sole album in 2008 received plaudits from many including Mojo and Uncut, the band was invited to perform at celebrated festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading Festival, Bestival and Wilderness.
Throughout his career in the UK, he began to gain notoriety, recording an array of material that freely defies genre-classification, with producer/drummer, Chris Wyles and guitarist Chris Cordoba.
Vanderwolf’s first release, the EP “When The Fire Grows Cold/Extinction!”, a collaboration with legendary musicians Robert Wyatt and Daevid Allen of Soft Machine, brought Max’s eponymous new band into the public eye.
It’s follow-up, the full-length album ’’12 Little Killers’’ was a collection of 12 songs recorded in London and co-produced & mixed by keyboardist Sam Sallon. This varied collection of self-damning songs earned comparisons to The Jam, David Bowie, Cat Stevens and others, receiving 4-stars in Mojo magazine.
Vanderwolf’s return to the US found him washed up on the shores of Los Angeles in the midst of the global pandemic. ”I was spun into a period of retrospection and renewed production — there was something about arriving in a new city, knowing very few people, and having to start over that was very inspiring. With drummer, Angie Scarpa, bassist H. Chris Roy and importing music-friends from NY, Phil Alloco and long-time collaborator, producer/keyboardist Dennis Martin the band rehearsed outdoors in the Santa Monica mountains. And finally, as the pandemic wound down, going into Red Star Studios in Silverlake.
The resulting album, ”The Great Bewilderment” is a 45-min, concept album that follows the story of Vanderwolf’s life in London falling apart and how he found himself anew in the California sunshine. Reviews for ”The Great Bewilderment” were strong and the album featured special guests, including guitarist Adrian Utley of Portishead.
Vanderwolf is set to release six singles in the first half of 2025 and is currently in the studio recording an album set for release later in the year.
