wye oak « Knox Road

Wye Oak kicks it up a notch, but keeps things very Wye Oak on Civilian

I thought Wye Oak was a folk band? I mean, they’ve been described as “indie folk-rock,” I suppose, but what’s this I hear on their latest full-length, Civilian? Heavy guitars? Crashing drums? Moments of intense emotion? Sounds a little bit like rock and or roll to me.

Ohhhh but that’s not to say […]

Jon

Wye Oak @ Siren

Wye Oak is what happens if you take Matt and Kim, sap them of their top-40 savvy and say “Hey, this whole folk genre isn’t too bad.” What I’m trying to say is that the two bands are very much not alike, except they’re both guy/girl duos.

What an awful introduction that was. During its earnest set on Saturday, Wye Oak was pleasant but often subdued, considering the general lack of immediacy in its music. They played near-flawlessly, but there’s only so much to say about a band — guitar and vocals from Jenn Wasner and drums and simultaneous keyboards from Andy Stack — that is so content with just being nice to listen to.

However, the duo did play a few new songs, which were very exciting glimpses into the future of the band. The new tracks were more striking from the outset, whereas some of the band’s older tunes tend to get lost in hazy bouts of reverb and distortion. The crafting of the songs, even, was improved: disparate halves came together to form a surprising connection between verse and chorus where you wouldn’t think there could be one. All in all, good work. I’m markedly more excited for the band’s next release than the past one.

Wye Oak – “I Hope You Die” [MP3]

More photos after the jump.

Continue reading Wye Oak @ Siren →

Lee

[MP3s] Your Siren Music Festival Preview (2010 Edition)

Photo by James B. Hale/Knox Road from Siren Music Festival 2009

Taking a page from last year’s pre-Siren coverage (for photos and reviews of every act last year, check here), here’s your 2010 preview in mp3s. I, unfortunately, won’t be there this year. Jamie, Jon, and helpful contributor Brittany will provide […]

Jon

Wye Oak needs to step outside the music on My Neighbor/My Creator

Something about Wye Oak’s style — the sweet female vocals, the lush, strummed guitar, the odd bits of electronics — is instantly likeable. It sounds slightly left-of-center, but still feels familiar. After all, for all the duo’s interesting experiments, the song structures and vocals aren’t terribly hard to come by.

That said, the […]