Album of the Week: Wye Oak

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Album of the Week: Wye Oak

The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs Out Now via Merge

Apr 06, 2018 By Chris Davidson Unknown Mortal Orchestra

In the Google’s documentary, Merge Records: 25 Years in 24 Minutes, Wye Oak frontwoman Jenn Wasner discusses how the help she received from label cofounder Laura Ballance kept the band continuing even after Wasner’s romantic breakup with drummer Andy Stack. Fortunately, for us, the band sounds stronger than ever at 12 years old and with the release of their sixth LP, The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs.

Wye Oak’s latest batch of songs firmly addresses the imperfections found in a world of numerous communication tools and innumerable miscommunications. Wasner juxtaposes the thoughts and self-doubts of “It Was Not Natural” with the confident assurance of “I Know It’s Real” and the yearning for consistency in “Lifer” (“There is a logic to the rule/The end is kind, the mean is cruel/I have to love the life I make/Make up for all the space I take”).

The lyrics are complemented by beautiful dissonance and harmonies. The first two tracks, “(tuning)” and “The Instrument,” allow for an almost deliberately soothing warm-up before tossing straight into the ocean of electronic chaos that is the title track. The record continues to revolve back and forth between orchestra-driven dirges (“My Signal”) and more frenetic postpunk numbers (“Over and Over”) all the while keeping the listener enraptured by the perfect marriage of vocals and instruments.

Whether you’re a long-time fan of Wye Oak or just now joining the party, The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs makes its case as the first record of 2018 to be an absolutely delightful journey on headphones and the perfect “roll down the windows and blast it on the car stereo” album for this first full month of spring.

Wye Oak Tour Dates:

Apr 06 Iowa City, IA - Mission Creek Festival
Apr 20 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Noord
Apr 21 Rotterdam, NL - Motel Mozaique Festival
Apr 22 Luxembourg, LU - De Gudde Wellen
Apr 25 Berlin, DE - BiNuu
Apr 26 Prague, CZ - MeetFactory
Apr 27 Vienna, AT - Fluc
Apr 29 Zurich, CH - Bogen F
May 01 Brussels, BE - Les Nuits Botanique @ Rotonde
May 02 Paris, FR - Le Pop Up
May 03 London, UK - Village Underground
May 04 Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute
May 05 Liverpool, UK - Liverpool Sound City
May 06 Dublin, IE - Whelan’s
May 09 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
May 10 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
May 11 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
May 13 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
May 14 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
May 15 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
May 17 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
May 18 Milwaukee, WI - The Back Room at Colectivo
May 19 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
May 20 Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room
May 21 Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
May 23 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
May 25 St. Louis, MO - Ready Room
May 26 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar
Jul 11 Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
Jul 13 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
Jul 14 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret
Jul 15 Seattle, WA - Neumos
Jul 17 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Jul 18 Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club
Jul 19 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
Jul 20 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
Jul 21 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom
Jul 23 Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf
Jul 24 El Paso, TX - Lowbrow Palace
Jul 27 Birmingham, AL - Saturn