Wild Pink’s John Ross on navigating cancer and the urgency of ILYSM
thefader.comJohn Ross already knew that he wanted to take a different approach to Wild Pink’s fourth album. His band’s third record, A Billion Little Lights, had been vast and swooning, combining Springsteen’s heartland grandeur with the chiming melodies of early Band of Horses.
It had a sheen and a shimmer to it. He’d started writing the follow-up before A Billion Little Lights was released in February 2021, and the new music intentionally had a rougher texture, a little more dirt beneath its nails.
He was six months into the writing process when he was diagnosed with cancer. He had to book surgery to remove some of his lymph nodes, though the earliest date he could lock down fell after Wild Pink was scheduled to enter the studio to record their new album.
He considered delaying the record indefinitely, but, partly on the advice of his doctors, he soon decided to stick with it. ILYSM, out via Royal Mountain on October 14, was written in part and recorded in full while Ross dealt with the uncertainties and physical strains of his diagnosis.
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