by Matt Kelchner
In case you have not heard by now the new Wye Oak album, Shriek, is relatively guitar-less. Gone is it’s centerpoint in each of the Baltimore duo’s new songs. “Ultimately it was a change that we really needed to move forward because otherwise there wasn’t really going to be any record at all” says Andy Stack (drummer/keyboardist) as we chat about the band’s new sound. It was a long and mentally grueling journal from their phenomenal 2011 release, Civilian, and now Wye Oak have pushed through and are about the embark on the headlining tour for their newest album.
After the release of Civilian, Wye Oak toured, as most bands would after releasing an album. They toured a lot. Stack recounts playing over 300 shows in two years. Putting themselves out on the road this much took it’s toll on Wye Oak. Stack details, “for Jenn [singer/main songwriter], that manifested into having a really hard time with writer’s block when she was starting to write.” It pushed each of them to the limits and left them questioning whether to continue as a band.
As they hit a creative standstill, the two came up with the idea to venture outside of their norm. Over the years, Wye Oak developed a reputation of being a guitar driven band and neither member thought of the band in that way. “We didn’t feel like we had to limit ourselves stylistically to guitar,” Stack tells me.
Both members worked on various side projects alongside performing as Wye Oak. They turned to the skills they acquired from these ventures to help push themselves out of their rut. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jenn Wasner put down the guitar and picked up the bass. As for Stack, there was much more of an emphasis put on his keyboard lines and production work. “In a lot of ways it still looks the same. Jenn is still the primary songwriter and she’s the lyricist. I’m still a tinkerer,” says Stack while we discuss how the musical changes have affected the band.
Stack goes on to say, “It’s been changing the live show a lot for us.” He explains the reworking that needed to happen to accommodate their new sound, “Internally it’s pretty different. We’ve definitely shifted some stuff up. We’re asking more of ourselves now than we ever really have before.” The level of multitasking has been pushed to an all time high for both Wasner and Stack. Despite this, the final product still looks the same. Stack adds, “Visually, it’s not a whole lot different. It’s not like we have a big backing band behind us or anything. It’s still the two of us.”
The alteration of their live performance reflected the bigger change in their idea of presenting the band’s songs to it’s audience. Previously, the live show revolved around taking flush arrangements, tearing down the layers to expose each song’s core elements. “We really wanted to keep some of these arrangements,” Stack explains. “We didn’t really want to sacrifice the vitality or playing things in real time.”
As anyone can imagine, there was a great deal of stress and doubt that fans of the “old” Wye Oak might not feel the same about the band’s new experimentation. Stack recalls the level of concern he had that fans might not catch on. After the number of shows already played, all worries have been cast aside.
Wye Oak bring their headlining tour for Shriek into Philadelphia tonight at Union Transfer. Opening for them are Braids. Over the past few years they have amassed their own level of hype and buzz from their two excellent albums and went through a musical change as well. Stop by the old, former Spaghetti Warehouse to check out a night of great music and join Wye Oak’s celebration of their new album!
