GENRE; Alternative Rock/ Rock Pop
RELEASE DATE; 5 December, 2025
RATING; 3/5
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Some songs feel like they were written in a quiet room. “The Wolves” feels like it was written somewhere between cities, with the engine still warm and the future unclear. Max Norton has spent more than a decade as a drummer for other artists, playing the biggest stages you can imagine, but this single feels personal in a way that fame can’t manufacture. This isn’t a side project or an experiment, it’s a statement from someone who finally decided to trust his own voice.
Norton calls “The Wolves” a traveling song, and that description couldn’t be more accurate. It’s about moving forward even when something is always chasing you; fear, pressure, expectations, or the weight of your own past. The song doesn’t try to outrun those things. Instead, it accepts them and keeps going anyway. There’s a steady pulse running through the track, driven by drums that feel instinctive rather than flashy, reminding you that rhythm has always been Norton’s foundation.
What really makes “The Wolves” stand out is how hands-on it is. Max writes, records, produces, and plays every instrument himself, and that level of control gives the song a raw honesty. You can hear shades of his influences—Levon Helm’s grounded spirit, Jeff Buckley’s emotional pull, Otis Redding’s soul but the song never feels like a tribute act. Growing up in Tampa, sharpening his craft in Nashville and London, and now settling in Muscle Shoals has clearly shaped his sound. As Norton says, “There’s just something in the water,” and you believe him.
Despite playing massive festivals like Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Glastonbury, and appearing on shows with Seth Meyers and David Letterman, “The Wolves” feels like a beginning, not a victory lap. With live dates lined up and more music coming into 2025 and 2026, Max Norton isn’t chasing attention, he’s following momentum. And this song proves it’s worth following too.
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