Too often in music, the "everything including the kitchen sink" approach takes down many a band. Having no ideas is one thing, but having too many and no ability to rein them in is another entirely. Thankfully, on their new album The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs, Wye Oak have proven themselves to be a wild and thrilling exception.
The duo's previous five albums were busier than your average indie rock album, but The Louder I Call... both refines and expands their sound, taking the wooly scuzz of 2016's Tween and marrying it to a brilliant sense of dynamism and texture. Following a disconcerting intro track simply called "(tuning)," "The Instrument" combines scalding guitars with circling arpeggios and soaring vocals for a track that sounds like the aural equivalent of tumbling down a mountain and loving every second of it.
More demure, but no less gorgeous, the title track builds to a crescendo of vocal harmonies so tight and heavily layered that they're almost sticky. Especially for the work of only two people, Wye Oak here conjure an absolute maelstrom. It never feels, though, that they're not in control, and the pair deploy their bag of sonic tricks like sorcery.
The metallic grind of guitars that erupts halfway through the loping "Lifer" is cinematic and so immediate that it's almost tactile. Disappearing nearly as suddenly as it appears, the song achieves a brilliant balance between studio trickery and the heartfelt earthiness of vocalist Jenn Wasner's delicate performance. It's actually her that grounds the record. Amidst the jumble of guitars, synths, and percussion that burble through The Louder I Call..., her voice is more present and engaging than it's ever been before. One listen to the rangy "You of All People" proves the suppleness and beauty that she's capable of.
There are moments, like "Symmetry," where one or two too many layers just flatten into a wall of sound, but impenetrable is better than dull. A barking staccato chorus redeems the song. Elsewhere, the band experiments with melisma and chamber pop (the gorgeous and too-short "My Signal"), club-footed rock (The Who-like shapeshifter "Over and Over") and head-nodding folk rock suffused with simmering electronics ("Join").
Wye Oak have been a hardworking and reliable band for many years, and on top of their already solid back catalogue, their latest feels like a major breakthrough. The duo have tapped into what makes them special and original with renewed confidence and much greater returns. Pick up The Louder I Call... and you'll be returning to it a lot.
The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs is out on CD, vinyl, and digital formats on Friday April 6th.
