An adversarial network of ideas, The Wants welcome the possibility that embracing friction can give rise to something cathartic and unexpected. Formed by Madison Velding-VanDam and Jason Gates in 2017, and with the addition of Yasmeen Night in 2021, The Wants’ sound is defined by the push and pull of its members’ processes: floating rhythms upheaving grounded songwriting, pulsing synths overwhelming live instrumentation. Their new record, Bastard, is an evolution of many of the seeds planted in their debut record, Container (2020), with a refined sense of acerbic emotional urgency and sonic experimentation.