Chain Gang of 1974

Wayward Fire is the second studio album by The Chain Gang of 1974, released June 21, 2011 on Modern Art Records. Written after Kamtin Mohager relocated from Colorado to Los Angeles in the wake of a breakup, the album functions as a musical diary — sprawling, emotionally raw, and unapologetically long, with seven of its eleven core tracks clearing the five-minute mark.

Where White Guts was scrappy and immediate, Wayward Fire doubles down on atmosphere. "Stop" opens with Fleetwood Mac-sampled drums and layers of synth before the album unspools through moody post-punk ("Devil Is A Lady"), a towering eight-minute centerpiece ("Hold On"), and the New Order-inflected pulse of "Teenagers." Pitchfork found flaws in its ambition, but Paste called it one of the better electronic albums of 2011, and Consequence of Sound praised its relentless, pummeling beats. Mohager describes the sound as "all over the place — from piano ballads to things that sound like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Primal Scream, or Justice."

The album cemented his reputation in indie electronic circles and set the stage for the Warner Bros. signing that would follow with Daydream Forever in 2014.