Playlist: Kate Vargas howls at the moon with these songs for the wolfish

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The symbolism of a wolf varies slightly, but sometimes quite significantly, across cultures. For many, the wolf is closely associated with witchcraft, inciting peoples to believe them to be witches masquerading around in sheep’s clothing, and still for others, the wolf is a figure of great resource and power. In any case, there is an animalistic rage which boils just underneath the scabbed and loose surface. On the most basic of levels, Webster Dictionary defines “wolfish,” the adjective form, clearly, as “resembling or likened to a wolf, especially in being rapacious, voracious or lascivious.” Those descriptors shift and transform, of course, depending on their context, and face-melting singer-songwriter Kate Vargas probes each possibility with a new playlist, dropping today.

“The word ‘wolfish’ was something that kept repeatedly coming up for me, in big bold letters. I had never thought about the word, let alone used it before,” she shares with B-Sides & Badlands. “While it can certainly be, and often is, used in a negative context, it’s a feeling that I think can be quite empowering and productive. The wolf is a powerful symbol of strength and hunger and, I like to think, curiosity. It’s about being tenacious and fierce.”

Including her own withered cut called “Roll Around,” her gnarly vocal tumbling and penetrating like a wolf’s sharpened fangs, the playlist contains songs brandished in dark and grisly back alleys, a suffocating display. From Shovels & Rope to Laura Marling to Lincoln Durham to Punch Brothers, the roster of tunes is beautifully twisted and poetic, ferrying around a tragic sense of self and reality and the world, at large. They’re also possessing of remarkable capacity to shatter glass, destroy mountains and completely flatten the landscape ⎯⎯ they’re empowering enough to send electricity to rush through your bones from skull to bony fingertips, too.

Vargas releases her new record, titled For the Wolfish & Wandering, on July 27.

Below, Vargas whets our ravenous appetite with rapid-fire insight into her potent playlist picks.

“Sila” by A Tribe Called Red featuring Tanya Tagaq

Doesn’t get much more animalistic than this. It’s brilliant. Bonus points if you attempt to sing along.

“Botched Execution” by Shovels & Rope

This story doesn’t have a happy ending, but the meat of it is about resilience, and I support that.

“I Wear This Because Life is War!” by L.A. Salami

I love the way he twists up words and, after listening to his more mellow stuff, this feels like when the Hulk rips his shirt off. I’d imagine it’s a great song to punch a pillow to.

“Master Hunter” by Laura Marling

One of my favorite current songwriters. Love the aggressive percussion on this recording. While it’s not always the way I intend to be, I listen to this song when I want to feel untouchable.

“Ballad of a Prodigal Son” by Lincoln Durham

This is a vibe one. It makes me feels like I’m out in the dirt, full moon, nothing for miles but some prickly things and animal bones.

“Roll Around” by Kate Vargas

My upcoming album is titled For The Wolfish & Wandering, so those two themes are peppered throughout. This tune displays the downside of wolfishness; it’s a cautionary tale of over-consumption. Sometimes we have to learn our limits by getting smacked in the face with them repeatedly.

“Bad As Me” by Tom Waits

Sometimes you just gotta walk down the street feeling like a bad mf. Let Tom’s voice rock you into badassery for three minutes and 10 seconds and don’t read into it too much.

“Plastic Hamburgers” by Fantastic Negrito

“Let’s break out these chains / Let’s burn it down.” A true rallying cry to overcome the things that are holding us back, as a collective, and focus on the well-being of, not only ourselves, but one another. It IS possible to practice good will voraciously.

“My Oh My” by Punch Brothers

Not only is the musicianship insane, this song really does something to me. It’s good for taking a moment during the wolfishness and feel some gratitude for the things your hungry little self has accomplished.

“Wolf Like Me” by TV On The Radio

I couldn’t help myself. Too perfect. The lyrics to this tune basically read as Webster’s definition of wolfish.

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