When X Ambassadors watched their latest single climb the music charts, it came as a surprise — then again, rapidly rising to fame isn’t usually foreseeable.
Last March, the alternative rock band released “Renegades,” another single from their first full length album that would finally give the band the national recognition they had longed for. And as the old saying goes, good things happen when you least expect them.
“When you’re creating stuff, you are living in this vacuum where you don’t know what’s good and what’s bad,” Adam Levin, the band’s drummer, said. “That was just another song to us — we had no idea that was going to be the one.”
The band, consisting of brothers Casey and Sam Harris, Adam Levin and Noah Feldshuh, began writing and playing music back in 2006 when they met in college in Manhattan.
Levin said the success of “Renegades” in 2015 has given the band the vehicle to keep doing what they always wanted to do. They are now able to continue touring and even expand to add dates and eventually release more music.
The single became a national hit and reached No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last November. Continuing the momentum, the band’s latest single “Unsteady” is currently No. 11 on iTunes’ alternative charts.
X Ambassadors will be making a tour stop at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Madison April 5.
The audience can expect the show to be high-energy with a full production, Levin said, as the band will play songs primarily from their latest album.
“We’ve been working on this album and this tour for a long time, so we’re really excited to bring it to you guys,” Levin said.
After two EPs, the band released their first full-length album VHS last January. The inspiration behind the album lies in the everyday lives of the band members, particularly in growing up and simply said, living life.
“It’s honestly just about our lives and telling our story,” Levin said “There are a lot of interludes on the album that are actually taken from real home videos and videos from our childhood. This was something we always really wanted to do.”
Simultaneously, X Ambassadors is currently working on their second album as they tour. Levin said that it’s important to always grow as musicians for subsequent albums since “no one wants to hear the same thing twice,” he said.
Musically, the band is primarily influenced by hip-hop and rock, but still takes inspiration from a variety of artists, such as Kanye West, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine-Inch Nails, Chris Stapleton and the Beatles — quite the eclectic mix.
From the band’s intricate lyrics to the “Renegades” music video — which features stories of people living with disabilities — the band clearly isn’t afraid to leave their audience with a strong message, an aspect often lacking in rock music.
With a unique sound resulting from a fusion of other musical styles and artists, X Ambassadors has followed through as a band to keep a close watch on. And after almost 10 years of playing together, the band has every intention to continue on this high — one that simply came as a pleasant surprise.
