On the Guestlist: OSCAR THE WILD
According to Oscar The Wild, bassist Lucinda Lake, was delivered to the band by an Abis and paid in soup. It’s been a pretty wild ride for Adelaide’s indie-grunge band. In just a few short years, they’ve shared stages and supported AC/DC alongside Amyl and the Sniffers, Bloc Party, Pale Waves, The Killers and The Beths, all while making several festival appearances and taking home the Best Group at the SA Music Awards.
The Adelaide indie-grunge rockstars, have just released their new single “Sunrise”, an anthem that captures the messy exhilaration and euphoric highs if a night out, with a tinge of vulnerability.
guestlist’d caught up with the girls— Ruby Gazzola, Nicola Willsmore, Ariya Gabell and Lucinda Lake— to unpack the chaos, get the tea behind the unforgettable night that inspired “Sunrise”, and what the future holds for the band.
Oscar The Wild | Credit: Neasan McGuinness
For readers meeting you for the first time — who is Oscar the Wild (how did the four of you end up making music together), and what is the story behind the name?
Ruby: My beautiful Nic (Berfa, as we refer to her in the chat) and I met doing backstage stuff for the school musical when we were 14, and have played music together since the dawn of time. Similarly, throughout our entire lifetime, Ariya and I have pumped out many rounds of marks up while our families party the night away. And like how most bassists are born into this world, Lucinda was delivered to our front door by an Ibis. Her first words were ‘noodle allowance?’ We said no, and instead paid her in Soup. After feasting, we all bonded over our passion for Irish poetry, being gay and big monsters, so the band name presented itself.
Lucinda: Mhm, an origin story for the ages. I met everyone, then straight onto a plane for the Blue EP tour with the band. Crazy beginnings! But I immediately knew these were my people <3 and if you’re meeting us here for the first time, hello! (and if you’re returning, hello again! :)
You've come a long way since forming back in 2018. How would you say your sound and dynamic as a band have evolved since then?
Nic: I think in part it comes down to the whole 10000 hours mindset, but also I think just lived experience, growing up and evolution in our tastes and how to bring that out in our songwriting and performance has had a lot to do with our sound and dynamic over the years. We also operate more like a family now than we ever have and each one of us knows that we will back each other in 100%, which also does a great deal in trying new things!
Lucinda: Perhaps since my entrance to the band there's been a little more noodling that occurs on the bass, but Nic really said it best! There’s such a cool intersection of everyone's experience in the music!
Ariya: I also feel as members have changed over time and as we’ve all grown as individuals, our tastes in music and experience as musicians has shaped the way we’ve written songs along with our attitude to create the type of art we want to make, we’ve moved and weaved through so many genres and feelings and it’s beautiful to feel this flexible in our art. I believe our experience performing and connecting with community has also shaped the way we play live and the songs we play frequently based on the support we’ve received from everyone who has seen us play and continues to see us play!! I think going on tour so frequently, rehearsing and creating together so often has shaped our band into a second family which makes this dynamic so great because we feel so comfortable with communicating and supporting one another.
Adelaide's music scene doesn't always get the spotlight it deserves. What's it like coming up as a band there, and what do you love about the local scene?
Nic: There are definitely pros and cons to being in a band in Adelaide. Whilst we are somewhat removed from the industry hubs on the east coast (a gap that has gotten considerably smaller in the time we’ve been a band), it does kind of foster more of a sense of community where everyone is a team and cheering everyone on to succeed and celebrate everyone’s wins.
Lucinda: The community in Adelaide is incredible! So, so supportive and there’s room for everyone to be celebrated for being themselves.
Ariya: I feel like it’s been such a lovely experience growing up as a band in Adelaide and watching everyone support one another as they have their wins and grow as artists and individuals. There’s a lot of great music coming out of Adelaide and a lot of great musicians and creatives.
2025 was a huge year for you having supported AC/DC and Amyl & The Sniffers, playing Harvest Rock, taking home Best Group at the SA Music Awards. What has the year taught you and what’s the next big goal for the band?
Nic: Last year definitely exceeded our expectations by a long shot, but I think that that is the lesson as well! Have goals but not necessarily expectations, just keep working hard and be grateful for every experience along the way. I think our next goals are to release an album and we’d love to head overseas at some point! Hopefully soon!
Lucinda: 2025 was the year I joined the band! So honestly every day I am hugely grateful for everything that we get to do together! I feel so lucky to share these experiences with my beautiful friends. As for future goals, I’m contractually obliged to keep tight lipped about a few things, however I’m extremely excited by working on the visual world of Oscar the Wild, so many more music videos and things are perhaps in the waterways!
Ariya: 2025 was such a special year for us and I feel like I say that every single year because we have just been so fortunate to do so many cool things as a band and tick off so many dreams of ours and it truly feels like a fever dream. Each year I feel like we continue to grow our goals and it’s been such a wild ride doing this completely independently (Nic and myself manage the band). We are very thankful to everyone who has supported us along the way and we can’t wait to tick more things off of our dreams list (which seems crazy to say). An album and overseas touring is definitely on that list and we’re so hopeful to get there soon :)
Your latest single, 'Sunrise' has been described as an ode to "cosplaying as an extrovert." Ruby, you also mentioned that it was inspired by a night you didn’t want to end, where “dive bars and gay bars become a place of worship”. Can you take us back to that night and what made it so memorable?
Ruby: far out, you’re digging for the tea!!! Firstly, a massive shout out to Mary’s Poppin as the gay club in question - truly the HQ for every queer in Adelaide. And if you must know, yes, there may have been a certain someone who I probably shouldn’t have been looking at, and definitely should not have asked to come home with me. It was messy, but it was fun, I hope you get that vibe from the song.
Lucinda: Ooh! My oh my, very juicy…
Oscar The Wild | Credit: Neasan McGuinness
“Sunrise” captures that feeling of wanting to hold on to a moment forever, celebrating the highs of a night out, but there’s also a sense of vulnerability underneath it. How conscious were you of preserving those feelings when writing this song?
Ruby: Damn, amazing insight! You make me sound deep! I guess it’s kinda strange how we assume vulnerability and confidence are mutually exclusive. Before a night out, you lace up your docs (for the lesbians), slip on some heels (gays), and are provided an opportunity to fully recreate yourself. But that confident qween you see owning the dancefloor, is the same awkward co-worker avoiding small talk at the coffee machine. I guess it’s kinda similar to being a performer, people see me as confident, extroverted and self assured, but I can promise that all my issues come flooding back at 8.30am on a Monday.
Now– we’ve got to talk about the ending. ‘Sunrise’ ends so abruptly. Was that always the vision, or did it happen naturally as the song developed?
Ruby: Yeah it’s intended to make you question if the song is really over so you hit repeat and give us extra streams.
Lucinda: I wish we could say it’s something intelligent, like a metaphor for starkly jolting awake from the sun rising and it was all just a dream, but the ending just sounds really cool with aHHhhHhh baP.
Ariya: I think as we wrote the song it just naturally built to a sudden stop and I really feel like it’s just leaving the space open for the listener to crave more.
You've mentioned there's a new body of work quietly coming together behind the scenes. Without giving too much away, does 'Sunrise' give us any hints about where that's headed?
Nic: I think in a way you can never get any hints on where we’re going to go next, sometimes we don’t even know! But hopefully that warm nostalgic feeling that we tried to bring out in Sunrise serves as some kind of hint!
Lucinda: Nostalgia is the perfect word! There’s a whole world awaiting our dear Oscar fans, I’m so excited to bring it to life sOOOOON! So soon we promise!
Any fellow Aussie or Adelaide acts you think deserve more ears right now?
Nic: As far as Adelaide acts go, we have such a mighty crop that everyone I feel deserves more ears! Our pop girlies are having a real moment right now - effie isobel has just put out a lovely new song and announced her debut EP! Mum Friends have always been a favourite of mine, they released a single a few months ago and Swapmeet (which I think we all can agree) have put out an incredible debut album which everyone has been talking about (for literally all the right reasons).
Ruby: BARKAA, Miss Kaninna and Drifting Clouds are top of mind for leading Aussie artists!
Lucinda: Nat Luna is one of a kind! She’s an Adelaide artist but is a full flight risk of taking over the world any day now. The voice of an angel, and is the kindest, funniest queen. She will always have my ears.
Ariya: I could be here for pages and pages listing incredible Australian and Adelaide artists. There is just so much talent in this country and I listen to sooooo much Australian music. Some that I can list are Dust, Sesame Girl, TOWNS, Swapmeet, Coldwave, Sunsick Daisy, Public Figures, Romanie, Fvneral, Suzi, Annie Hamilton, The Empty Threats, Ella Ion, Effie Isobel, Mum friends, Blue Diner, Garage Sale, Lucky - the list is endless.
What have you been listening to lately — any tracks or artists you can't stop playing at the moment?
Nic: I feel like I am constantly listening to everything ever, all the time. It’ll be something different every single day. My staples at the moment (and probably always) are like 90s alt rock and at the moment especially, 00s pop-punk/emo, but the playlists I make probably make sense to no one but myself. As far as Australian tracks go, I’ve been loving FVNERAL’s new EP ‘Chosen Family’ - specifically the song ‘hate u’, Adam Newling’s new track ‘LIFE’ and ‘Kill You Back’ by The Buoys.
Lucinda: I’m also a musical consumer of everything! But at this very moment in time, my listening taste includes a lot of 60s soul, Carol Ades, Supertramp, Sunsick Daisy, Van Halen, and as a huge musical theatre geek who recently saw a couple Australian theatre productions, Heathers & Waitress The Musical (I cannot shut up about them).
Ariya: I have been hitting repeat on each artist I listed in the previous question - especially the recent singles from Sesame Girl and Swapmeet’s debut album. I’ve also been deep diving into Irish bands since my UK trip last year. There's some really cool grunge/shoe-gaze/post-punk music coming out of Ireland and I recommend everyone looking into it!!