Earlier this week, Pinwheel Valley’s latest single ‘Werewolf‘ dropped and it’s still clawing its way through the indie landscape, a testament to the band’s rare gift for turning borrowed inspiration into something fiercely their own. Led by Jordanian-Canadian frontman Qais Khoury, this Cyprus-hatched crew has built a rep blending Indie Soul, Alt-Rock, and Folktronica into a sound that’s racked up over 2 million streams. Outlets like CLASH Magazine, NOTION, and Billboard Argentina have sung their praises, while tracks like ‘Willow‘ and ‘Abduction‘ snagged Best Music Video nods at the New York Film Awards and Vegas Movie Awards. Add the chart-climbing ‘Your Superman‘ and standout gigs at Fengaros Festival and Indie Week Toronto, and you’ve got a band that’s not just playing the game—they’re rewriting it.
Looking back, ‘Werewolf‘ stands out for how it tackles the tightrope walk of influence—one of the trickiest feats in music. It’s brutal to lean on giants like Jeff Buckley, Bon Iver, and Radiohead without just aping them; mimicry’s a trap too many fall into, losing their soul in the shadow of their heroes. But Pinwheel Valley? They don’t just borrow—they transform. Buckley’s vocal vulnerability courses through Khoury’s delivery, raw and unshackled, while Bon Iver’s knack for haunting, layered soundscapes seeps into the track’s slow-burn build. Radiohead’s fearless genre-splicing sparks the song’s restless energy. Yet, it’s never redundant. Khoury’s working-class lament ties it all together, grounding the influences in a narrative so personal it could only be theirs. A few days in and it’s clear: this isn’t just influence done right—it’s influence reborn.
In a recent chat, Qais Khoury peeled back the layers of ‘Werewolf‘, saying, “‘Werewolf‘ is the closest thing I ever wrote to a Coldplay song. If you like early 2000s Coldplay albums, this single is right up your alley. ‘Werewolf’ is about the average working-class man who feels like an outcast in society—a man who has developed an inescapable, uncontrollable urge to turn violent and destructive, much like a werewolf. This transformation is fueled by the ongoing neglect and mistreatment from those who have the power to help but choose not to. As a result, he’s caught in a constant struggle between the good and evil within himself.’” A week in, that quote hits harder—revealing not just the song’s gut-punch of a story, but how Pinwheel Valley alchemizes influence into something urgent and alive. They’ve taken the best of their idols, wrestled it into their own shape, and delivered a howl that’s still echoing.
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