With Wheat, every second counts. The band’s latest release,
Per Second, Per Second, Per Second … Every Second,
contains nearly 3,000 full seconds of indie-pop. The album’s title
was inspired partly by terminal velocity, partly by Jonathan
Livingston Seagull, but mostly by a call to not waste any time on
earth. This sense of anticipation is no doubt a product of the
tensioned gap between the release of their last studio album,
Hope and Adams in 1999, and Per Second in 2003.

During this gap, Wheat left Sugar Free Records and began the
progression that is noticeable when comparing the overall sound and
texture of the material on the two albums. While Hope and
Adams contains darker, more contained music that is best
experienced in solitude, Per Second is lighter, more
liberated and meant to be enjoyed in the company of others.

“It’s much less about Solitaire, much more about Go Fish,”
Levesque said.

These four years provided ample time to perfect Per
Second, a process that resulted in 14 tracks of mature pop
music. Levesque’s soothing voice settles over simple melodies, a
combination that generates a sense of constant motion. This motion
follows the beat of Brendan Harney’s drums, which give an
additional dynamic to Wheat’s layered sound.

“It’s pulsy and sexy, but not in a traditional way; our songs
have a good groove,” Levesque said.

Levesque began writing melodies in his early teen years, while
learning the saxophone. He still remembers the first melody he ever
wrote and will not hesitate to sing it.

Many years later, Levesque met Harney in art school, and after
playing with a numerous amount of musicians, the two formed an
informal band with guitarist Ricky Brennan. The band’s name was
inspired by their first bass player, who had joined the night
before their first show at Club Baby Head in Providence, R.I.

“He was doing some soul searching at the time, and got into
Christianity and the whole concept of reaping what you sow,”
Levesque said.

Wheat is planned to tour nonstop across the country over the
next few months, making two stops in St. Louis. The first is
Wednesday night at the Gargoyle, when Wheat will headline after
supporting band Hey Mercedes. The second is in March, when Wheat
will take second chair to their now-commercialized good friend Liz
Phair. Backed by new, more audience-friendly songs, Wheat’s live
show is not one to be missed.

“We sound the best we have ever sounded, even with the older
songs. It’s the real thing, we’re not putting on a shtick,”
Levesque said.

This sincerity can be appreciated by any type of music fan,
which makes it hard to categorize a typical Wheat fan, and even
harder to decide on a target audience. Levesque appreciates this
universality of their music.

“We don’t necessarily have a camp. We’re not a weirdo
cut-yourself band, we’re not reggae, we’re not even modern rock,”
he said.

Wheat may not inspire a cult-like following, but they may gain
rising success with increased national exposure. But whether or not
mainstream success finds Wheat, their overall goal will remain.

“It’s a one day at a time, one record at a time mentality,”
Levesque said.

And as long as they stick to this motto, Wheat will continue to
make every second count.