Wye Oak reimagine themselves as a duo driven by sturdy bass lines and jumpy keyboards on their upcoming fourth album, Shriek. Singer-bassist Jenn Wasner explained to SPIN recently that the guitars that featured so prominently on 2011’s Civilian are gone because, “If I don’t feel right about something or connected to something, then it’s just not going to happen; I can’t fake my way through it. [While writing Shriek], there was all this weird baggage associated with the guitar for me, and I couldn’t get around that.“
Wasner and bandmate Andy Stack previewed their new working arrangement back in January with “The Tower,” a thumping track that came paired with the upcoming LP’s release details (Shriek is due out April 29 via Merge Records). Now, the Baltimore-bred band have revealed another facet of their reinvention: “Glory,” a high-minded groove that benefits from Wasner’s heavenly vocals and a brief detour into itchy, electronic instrumentation.
“It’s never been about the guitar,” Wasner told SPIN. “We gravitated toward that setup for a while because it was working for us and we were excited about it. But once that becomes tapped out, you have to move on. It’s absolutely better from all angles to make a great record you believe in that feels inspired and that might sound different to some people, than it is to try and phone in a record that sounds like what people are going to expect. People who like our band appreciate good songwriting; whether or not we pull this off rests on the fact whether the songs are good enough.”
Bask in “Glory” below, and scroll down further for Wye Oak’s current tour dates.
Wye Oak tour dates:
March 20 – London, England @ Lexington
March 21 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
March 23 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ MC Theater
March 25 – Berlin, Germany @ Privatclub
March 28 – Zurich, Switzerland @ M4M Music Festival
March 29 – Istanbul, Turkey @ IKSV
April 11 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
April 18 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
May 2 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre
May 3 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
May 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
May 6 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
May 7 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
May 9 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
May 10 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
May 11 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
May 13 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
May 14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
May 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe
May 16 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
May 17 – Lawrence, KS @ The Granada
May 18 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
May 20 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
May 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
May 28 – Vienna, Australia @ Chelsea
May 29 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Meet Factory
May 31 – Mannheim, Germany @ Maifield Derby
June 2 – Cologne, Germany @ Studio 672
June 3 – Hamburg, Germany @ Prinzenbar
June 4 – Berlin, Germany @ Lido
June 5 – Munich, Germany @ Strom
June 7 – Kleinreifling, Germany @ Seewiesen Festival
June 9 – Paris, France @ Le Point Ephemere
June 11 – Manchester, U.K. @ Soup Kitchen
June 12 – Leeds, U.K. @ The Social Brudenell Club
June 13 – Glasgow, U.K. @ King Tuts
June 14 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Sugar Club
June 15 – Belfast, Ireland @ McHughs Basement
