WYE OAK and POMEGRANATES
WYE OAK
Wye Oak is Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack.
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Wye Oak wrote what became Civilian between December of 2009 and July of 2010. The songs “are, as a whole, about aloneness (the positive kind), loneliness (the horrible kind), moving on, and letting go (of people, places, and things),” lyricist/guitarist Jenn Wasner reveals. After recording and mixing the previous two albums themselves, Wye Oak brought in mixing engineer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Shearwater), who played a pivotal role in the sound of Civilian.“ JC definitely pushed us into some exciting and sometimes scary new territory,” multi-instrumentalist Andy Stack says. “It was the most that Jenn and I had ever relinquished control of our music to someone else, but it gave us a chance to step back and see the big picture, whereas on previous recordings we got embroiled in the technical details.”
Civilian is a kind of 21st-century folk music, imbued with dense shoegaze guitars, nearly melodic rhythms, and impeccable splashes of electronic color. Without leaning on conventional structure, the songs beguile with fascinating chords and melodies, Jenn’s voice and riveting lyrics, mesmerizing rhythms, and an intoxicating aural landscape. Just as good writing has meaning between the lines, Civilian has meaning between the sounds: the combinations of harmonies, timbres, and words summon vivid and ineffable associations just beyond reach. Jenn sums up the meaning of the album saying, “this collection of songs is called Civilian because I believe everyone wants to be normal, but no one truly is.”
POMEGRANATES
Pomegranates are a band from Cincinnati that began as a fun project between two friends, Jacob Merritt and Isaac Karns, eventually growing into a four-piece with Joey Cook and, most recently, Dan Lyon. Over a span of two years, the band released two albums, 2008’s Everything Is Alive and 2009’s TJ Lipple-produced Everybody, Come Outside!, both of which drew the immediate attention of independent radio stations like KEXP, WOXY, and KCRW, and critical praise from the likes of Spin magazine for the band’s very sudden and prodigious growth in sound.
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What is that sound? If the world could lean in and hear the sound of a pomegranate slowly opening up to the world, this is probably something close to what it would sound like. On songs like “Beachcomber” and “Everybody, Come Outside!,” guitars and keyboards shimmer and shine, but never in the lazy, hazy ways of so many bands today. Jacob Merritt’s propulsive drumming keeps a nimble pace; while Joey Cook’s clear tenor and Isaac Karn’s more forceful vocals bounce off of each other atop the mix. Time signatures leap in and out and jewelled tangents appear around every corner, but the songs always retain an upbeat and compact sentiment that belongs in the same sentence with The Beach Boys, Spoon, and French Kicks, the latter two with whom the band has already toured.
Having notched off those tours, as well as further dates with Islands and Blitzen Trapper, the band recorded their third LP, One of Us, with TJ Lipple at The Monastery in Cincinnati. Having cited inspirations like Spiritualized and Talking Heads for their work so far, the band’s new “psychedelic dream rock” album looks to push further down experimental roads, with descriptors like “textured,” “unusual,” and “challenging” entering the conversation. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, such adjectives also describe that peculiar fruit called the pomegranate, which even now is difficult to find and grows rarely. When allowed to flourish, though, a pomegranate becomes a delicacy, its inner textures at once alien and familiar, and it is ultimately prized for its flavor. Where else can one find such a unique flavor? Listen to Pomegranates.
BILL CAPERTON
This is some music from Bill Caperton. These songs were recorded during a fallow period for Bill's other band, Ela. His friends Peter Leggett and Robert Skoro came and played with him. Their friend Joe Johnson recorded these songs as they started to come to life. If it hangs from the wall, it’s a painting. If it rests on the floor, it’s a sculpture. If it’s very big or very small, it’s conceptual. If it forms part of the wall, if it forms part of the floor, it’s architecture. If you have to buy a ticket, it’s modern.
