Houston’s The Wheel Workers have been at this for over two decades, and Live From The Attic is exactly what the title promises: the band recording live in their Houston rehearsal space – the actual attic where the songs get written and developed – with a corresponding video for every track on YouTube. It dropped April 10th, and it sits as a bridge to their upcoming full-length One More Thing To Say, due October 2026. The current lineup is Steven Higginbotham on vocals, guitar, keys, and violin, Craig Wilkins on guitar and keys, Erin Rodgers on keys and vocals, Zeek Garcia on bass, and Kevin Radomski on drums. For a collective that has cycled through more than 15 members across seven albums, this particular configuration sounds locked in.
First of all, props to whoever engineered this live session because all of the details are positively popping through. That level of clarity in a live room recording is harder to pull off than it sounds, and it pays off across the whole EP. “Fine Time” is a genuinely great anti-war song – the harmony and rhythm section do what’s needed, but the lyrics are the real story. They could easily be commenting on current events in 2026, when the song was actually written back in 2014. The live version sounds more mature for it, like a song that got to marinate with the band long enough that the performance has become more nuanced and settled.
“Desire” pops more in a live setting because, by design, it leans heavily on the lyrics, so when the instruments are naturally more present in a room recording, everything feels more balanced. Thematically, it sits with adult responsibilities pushing against what we actually want, and how difficult it is to break the pattern of routine long enough to explore our own instincts – getting out of the box is hard when the box is what keeps the lights on.
Musically, “Day After Day” is the most interesting track on the EP, with a lot more rhythmic variation than the other songs in the session. The bass riffs have a Primus-inspired quality, and the evolving synth sounds push it toward 70s prog rock territory – a combination that shouldn’t work as cleanly as it does. The band executes it live in a way that doesn’t just honor the original composition but takes it somewhere further.
A live EP from a band this deep into their catalog could easily feel like a stopgap, but Live From The Attic earns its place in the discography. The Wheel Workers have shared stages with The Flaming Lips and Phantogram, toured nationally, and spent time on the NACC charts with Harbor – they know how to perform. With the full-length still months away, this is a worthwhile entry point for anyone who hasn’t caught up with them yet.
