free music friday: wye oak
‘Take It In’
Perhaps we were too harsh on last year’s Wye Oak debut If Children [review], perhaps not, but we’re liking what we’re hearing of their new material. In case you missed the last one, by way of introduction let’s say that Wye Oak are an indie-folk duo from Baltimore with a penchant for rock-edged numbers. Their rather sophisticated party trick involves guitarist Jenn Wasner’s multi-tasking colleague Andy Stack playing the drums with both feet and right hand, while providing bass and keys with his left hand. An impressive feat indeed, but one that quickly fades away from interest once their emotive sounds kick in. Formed in 2006, the pair originally went under the name Monarch before deciding on Wye Oak, a name they borrowed from the honorary tree of their home state of Maryland. Interest in If Children led to the band being signed to respected label Merge, who will usher in the band’s second album The Knot on July 21st, a 10-track collection that sees them tone down the feedback a little and bring the woozier elements of their sound to the fore. Preview track ‘Take It In’ is an astoundingly expansive number, dreamy yet startlingly connected with fading country-inspired licks snaking through the crashing cymbals and blues-rock electric chords. We may have criticised her for sounding too Breeders-like in the past, but Jenn’s vocals here are effortlessly lush, with a gentle, husky power ideal for shoegaze rock. ‘Take It In’ is practically perfect.
The Knot
01 Milk & Honey
02 For Prayer
03 Take It In
04 Siamese
05 Talking About Money
06 Mary Is Mary
07 Tattoo
08 I Want For Nothing
09 That I Do
10 Sight, Flight
FREE MP3: Wye Oak, ‘Take It In’ [via MBV]
Written by: Charlotte Richardson Andrews
This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 5:02 pm and is filed under All A/V, free music friday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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