Wardell, the brother-sister indie duo from Theo and Sasha Spielberg, have released their first single called “I’m a Man.” The children of filmmaker Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw, the group will be releasing their second album later this year.
“I’m a Man” is a low-tempo ballad from the siblings that muses over the pains of growing up, especially in these troubling times: “Good for our attention addiction/What’s the difference between telling lies/And swearing that the truth is on fire?”
Wardell first began as a duo titled Brother/Sister, writing and recording music since they were young and first playing shows in 2010. They released their debut album, Love/Idleness, in 2015, two years after their first EP Brother/Sister. Love/Idleness, recorded primarily in the duo’s childhood home, was created just prior to Theo moving to New York to book music for Saturday Night Live while Sasha continued to work in Los Angeles, collaborating with other musicians such as Nicolas Jaar.
“We’re incredibly honest,” Sasha says. “I don’t tiptoe around my choice of words with Theo. This can start some fights, but in a very healthy way.”
“This was one of the first songs we wrote for the album but also one of the last songs to be recorded,” adds Theo. “So while the song’s sentiment informed the rest of the album, it took recording most of the rest of the album in order to zero in on the sonics and the vibe of this song. It’s very self-reflexive in that way. This album was written while we were both questioning our individual relationships, realizing we were outgrowing old patterns and partners. Little did we realize that our band was actually going through similar motions”
The pair recorded their upcoming second album between LA and New York over the next four years.