As Wilderado released their new album Talker last month, the band was coming off a whirlwind couple of years, including their debut performance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, their tour opening for My Morning Jacket last year and an extensive run of shows this past summer.

"I think we're just in the process right now of letting it be what it is and celebrating each other and celebrating the feat," says lead singer and guitarist Max Rainer, speaking with Variance in the days following the album's release. "At the same time, we're swallowing the fact that the work never really stops, you know? We're just kind of on to the next thing. But we've made it a point to be grateful for this moment and where we are right now."

The energy around this latest chapter of the band's music is certainly different. And Rainer along with his bandmates Tyler Wimpee and Justin Kila recognize the significance of this moment, especially for a trio based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"I always just feel grateful to do this," says Rainer. "It just feels good to have people look forward to a release, rather than just scraping along to have anyone even notice that you made a song. So I know it's a rare thing, and we're grateful for that."

As the trio continues to climb the rungs of the ladder of the music industry, they keep hitting astonishing benchmarks they couldn't have imagined even a few years ago. Back in August, they played at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where they were surrounded by a sea of thousands, perhaps as many as 15,000 for their late afternoon set, during which Rainer told the crowd it felt like they were "playing in outer space right now." 

"I think when you have these really huge, accented moments, the exercise is to just take it in," explains Rainer of the surreal experience at Lolla. "If you actually did go to outer space, either you look around and suck in as much of the stardust as possible, or you just freak out and get scared and go right back inside the spaceship," he says with a laugh.

"You have a Lollapalooza moment and you think, 'Man, we must be doing something right to be given this opportunity.' But at the same time, you take it all with a grain of salt."

With Talker, the band fully embraced their hometown roots and allowed themselves to be more vulnerable in this new material, perhaps more so than on their previous work. But Rainer says there is also irony, noting how humans many times associate a "talker" as being "like exhaust coming out of a mouth." So, they were very intentional about how they approached this record and the lyrics contained in it.

"I wanted to make sure that if I was going to say something, I wanted it to be me and the human element of confession and admission and observation," he says. "But I think I love this kind of irony of having to call it Talker, because at the end of the day, a lot of what went on was me having to accept being something that sometimes I don't want to be and saying, 'Alright, am I OK with that?'"

Now, as the band soaks in these last few weeks, they're closing out the year with a run of shows this month, capped by a special performance at Tulsa's storied Cain's Ballroom on Oct. 26. Again, something they were very intentional about this time around.

"We were really declarative with our agents about it, like, 'Hey, if we're gonna play Tulsa this time around, we need it to be the last show because it's just too much of a kick in pants to come through town just to leave again,'" recalls Rainer.

After the tour ends, the band is planning to get right back to work. In fact, they're currently plotting an alternative version of the album with guest features from various artists.

"We'll hopefully get some artists that we really like on [the songs]," Rainer teases. "But, yeah, we're in the process of it all right now. And then there's just loads of versions of the songs off this record. I think something I want to do is to just really go through it and hopefully have a chance to show some of the history of the songs and release some demos."

Needless to say, Wilderado is having a great year. And it doesn't look like they're slowing down anytime soon. As Rainer confesses, their calendar "just goes and goes and goes and goes" for the next few months, which is pretty much the dream.

"I think we're kind of energized by it," he says. "Like, that means we're in the game. We're still getting to do it. There are always moments of excitement, moments of exhaustion and trying to tap into some serotonin. But we're doing it and we love it. Just some boys from Tulsa, Oklahoma. And it's the best feeling."■