“No one is truly ever an overnight success,” says the Pretty Wild’s Jules Wylde.
The singer speaks from experience. In 2024, her Las Vegas band — which she fronts with her sister and co-vocalist Jyl — dropped the infectious nu-core single “sLeepwALKeR.” The track quickly caught fire on TikTok, its pre-breakdown “mosh cough” fueling thousands of fan-made “coughcore” clips and helping the song rack up millions of streams. Within months, the surge carried the Pretty Wild from viral upstarts to Sumerian Records signees, opening doors to movie-soundtrack collabs, prominent festival slots and more.
But Jules is quick to note there was no straight shot to “sLeepwALKeR” — just the long grind with Jyl. “We’ve played empty rooms … hundreds of four-hour-long sets in smoky casinos. We’ve opened for countless artists across a wide span of genres. We’ve driven thousands of miles to be able to play the next stage,” says Jules. “But we love it, and that’s why we do it.”
That groundwork — and the duo’s grit — primed their 2024 breakout. Since then, they’ve only picked up speed. This year, the Pretty Wild teamed with Kittie and DIAMANTE for a cover of Metallica’s “The Unforgiven” on the Queen of the Ring soundtrack and rolled out a series of new singles including “button eyes,” “OMENS” and “living ded,” while also writing toward their first full-length. They also joined In This Moment on the Hell Hath No Fury tour and hit major festival stages at Welcome to Rockville and Inkcarceration.
But the real engine behind that rise is their sound. Sonically, they collide pit-crushing nu-core, sugary-sweet pop and Tim Burton-esque theatrics — a lineage from Evanescence and Kittie, recalibrated for 2025 heaviness and hooks. And the proof is in the pit. When Revolver spoke with the Pretty Wild, they had just played at Ohio’s Inkcarceration festival. Despite technical difficulties and a song getting cut short due to crowd violence, the sisters still won over the audience.
“Ink-credible!” says Jules. “That festival is incredibly well-conducted. Everyone running behind the scenes to make it happen was fantastic, and there were some killer activations that we’ve never seen elsewhere.”
Jyl calls the experience “surreal,” adding, “Looking out to a sea of thousands of people is an unparalleled rush.” The rush was a long time coming.
Before they were commanding festival crowds, Jyl and Jules were kids in Indiana grappling with loss, faith and the need for escape. Their mother passed away from cancer when they were young, leaving a profound void in their lives. Jyl, meanwhile, was bullied and adrift — until their aunt offered them a fresh start in Nevada. “Aunt Maryanne invited us to live in her Las Vegas home,” Jules explains. “I was 19 and Jyl was 15.”
The transition wasn’t easy. “Culture shock,” recalls Jules of the move. “Vegas has little-to-no similarities to the Midwest. But it was a new beginning, and we were all in.”
Through it all, music was a constant. Raised in a devout Catholic home, they latched onto music early. Jyl grew up as a self-described “pop girlie,” while Jules was out hitting the local metalcore shows. Years later, they fused those influences into the Pretty Wild’s genre-spanning sound. “Linkin Park, Bring Me the Horizon, Lorna Shore, and the classical genius of Chopin are what we really draw from for this,” says Jules.
Jules and Jyl quickly made a name in the Vegas scene. Multi-hyphenate musicians, they played marathon casino sets — singing and trading off on guitar across rock, country and whatever the room demanded. Their self-described “y’allternative” sound drew interest from a Nashville-based label, landing them on big festival stages like Life Is Beautiful and Route 91 Harvest. But the label kept them boxed into a narrow country lane — and the restriction sapped their creative energy. Frustrated, the sisters stepped back from the scene.
For a time, they went their separate ways. Jyl dove into gymnastics, posting videos of herself performing complex routines on social media. “I wasn’t trying to get anybody else’s validation,” Jyl says. “I just wanted to prove to myself I could make my own videos, post them and be happy.” Jules leaned into theater and production, designing intricate events — including a cocktail program inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.
“But we never truly stepped away from music,” clarifies Jules. “In 2015 we just decided to spend more time focusing on live shows and gigging around Vegas — doing more covers. Frequent live shows also help hone your craft. There is a lot of work in Vegas for musicians willing to play live.”
That steady gigging period eventually gave way to something more focused, and in 2022 they came together officially as the Pretty Wild — and released their debut single, “XANAX & CHAMPAGNE,” which bridged the gap between their country beginnings and the heavier path ahead. After a run of singles and the 2023 EP, Trigger Warning, the Pretty Wild dropped “sLeepwALKeR,” boldly marking the start of the band’s current era.
The song wasn’t just a professional milestone. It was a personal benchmark — the moment they were their truest selves: two kids born to perform, turning their darkness into something uniting. Their creative process mirrors that bond: organic, intuitive, wide-open. “No two songs are alike,” says Jules. “Every song is different.”
Through all the pivots and setbacks, their bond has never buckled. “Our relationship is resilient, and we get along well,” Jyl notes. “We only have differences creatively. We hold space for the other’s opinion without judgment.”
That resilience is paying off. For Jyl, joining In This Moment’s Hell Hath No Fury tour alongside Wargasm and Kat Von D is validating — she’s performing music she believes in, on her terms. She thinks back to setlists built around material she didn’t fully love. Now the miles feel worth it.
“When I see the girl that was playing [those early country] festivals, I just see someone who was afraid to be in their own skin,” says Jyl. “I’ve had to work so hard to finally be comfortable in what I’m doing musically.”