Over the course of three albums, American punk band
Donovan Wolfington brought D.I.Y. attitude to their pop-leaning indie rock before breaking up in 2018.
D-Wolf were formed in New Orleans in 2011 by Loyola University students
Neil Berthier (vocalist/guitarist) and
Matthew Seferian (guitarist/vocalist). Taking inspiration from bands like
Pavement,
Nirvana,
NOFX,
Bad Religion, and
Built to Spill, they started jamming together, later recruiting Savannah Sexton to join as keyboardist/vocalist. Bassist Christian Baraks and drummer Chris Littlejohn rounded out the founding quintet. The band issued its debut, Stop Breathing (Broken World Media/Community Records), in 2013, signing with Topshelf Records soon thereafter. Their label debut, the five-track EP
Scary Stories You Tell in the Dark, arrived in 2014. Sexton parted ways with
D-Wolf before they recorded their sophomore LP,
How to Treat the Ones You Love, with new bassist Chris Lanthier lending his talents for only this effort.
How to Treat... featured a hardcore punk song and some heavy metal noise, marking steady creative growth for the young group. They toured the United States and Europe, building an audience, especially in the grassroots scene of New Orleans. Then, in 2017, they announced a breakup. In
D-Wolf's final incarnation, as a quartet,
Berthier and
Seferian were joined by bassist Alejandro Skalany and drummer Mike Saladis. They recorded one last album,
Waves, which was self-released in early 2018. After playing their farewell show for Community Records' tenth anniversary celebration,
Berthier moved to Nashville to pursue a solo career (while also briefly working as fellow NOLA punk band
PEARS' tour manager), while Skalany joined New Holland and
Seferian and Saladis carried on with Pope. ~ Neil Z. Yeung