In late 2010, Marty Crandall had been “let go” from the iconic indie-rock band the Shins and was met with the decision of either calling it a day or moving forward with this thing called music. Thankfully he chose the latter.

Touching base with some friends from his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, that included fellow former Shins guitarist Neal Langford, brother Maury Crandall on drums, guitarist/vocalist Jason Ward and Sean McCullough on bass, Sad Baby Wolf quickly, and rather effortlessly came to life.

As their first release, the band decided to release not one, but two singles in the same vein as a classic 7″. On the front end is the boisterously rock-rooted stomper 8th Level, while on the flip side is the more psychedelic, drone-rock inspired Survival Guide. Both are more than deserving of some ear-time, and the latter especially has a rapidly rising play-count in our iTunes library.

Both songs are set to appear on Sad Baby Wolf’s debut full-length, which is tentatively scheduled for release in early spring 2012.

Download Sad Baby Wolf – 8th Level mp3 (from 8th Level / Survival Guide)

Download Sad Baby Wolf – Survival Guide mp3 (from 8th Level / Survival Guide)

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