Wye Oak – AEIOU – Merge Records
Wye Oak AEIOU single and video was born unto the internet Tuesday July 7th. One of the most talented duos of the 00’s in my bloated opinion. Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have yet to disappoint me.
Wye Oaks AEIOU single features a minimalist, line drawn animated video proving less is more. The video is basic black and white linear graphics animated in a simple story format. It’s practical and works. A cool feature of the video is any culture could appreciate this video’s narrative, even if you cannot read English.
The song however is anything but minimal. Multitrack vocals reminiscent of early Enya. AEIOU‘s numerous vocals sounds like a choir comprised of Jenn Wasners. However it is the Brooklyn Youth Chorus lending their voices to the mix.
An additional track of vocals is chanting A – E – I – O – U in a mantra – like style. Single repetitive guitar/MIDI notes and a tribal beat. The chords of the guitar are drenched in warm tones. They gently hum and buzz , drop in and out while Andy keeps the tom tom heavy beat going. The MIDI like bass wave adds another layer of majesty and foreshadowing.
When Jenn sings her first main vocal line it is sweet in timbre but booming in contrast to the build up and background vocal “chatter”.
These parts all build tension into a crescendo of vocals. The song feels enormous and yet Wye Oak is a mere two members.
I’m wondering after this madness ends and we have live music again, how would Wye Oak pull this off live? I’ve seen Wye Oak a few times and will share photos of them live – but another day. Please stay tuned if you love this band.
Getting back to playing AEIOU song live. The simple and incomplete answer is left to my speculation. I have witnessed Andy and Jenn multi task and use instruments simultaneously. Andy Stack can hold beats down and trigger samples. I’ve seen him use synth one handed and hold a beat down with his feet and one free hand. Jenn sings, plays guitar, keys, and bass depending on which Wye Oak song is in the set. Even though this may involve guest vocals or triggered samples of voices and more, Wye Oak has stage presence that can surmount the technical challenge of having a complicated song. When you can’t use studio overdubs, you can simply use other means like trigger pads, loops , tape, samples, etc.
As I put my gear nerdery and “How’d they do that ” analytics away for a moment. I will say on Wye Oak AEIOU single they are growing in musical maturity and the new EP No Horizon will most likely chart new territory.
For reference (and selfish , pizza hoarding/sharing like reasons) here is my favorite Wye Oak song of days past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k39M2TN5bTs
On a side note Jenn Wasner’s other project Flock of Dimes released an EP last week and you can simply click on the link below and compare the two projects. Equal quality but differing in moods.
I want to thank you for reading. It means alot to me and this pandemic is hard on so many people in the world, so feel free to drop a line, comment. I’m always looking for contributions that fit the bands and material I cover. It is music like this that has brightened the days a little. I hope yours have been brightened. – Meat