Wye Oak, the collaboration effort between multi-instrumentalists Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, have announced their new EP, No Horizon, that will be released at the end of the month on July 31. Additionally, the duo released the EP’s lead single, “AEIOU.”
The song is a melodic and rhythmic triumph, as the chords and melodic lines of the choir singing “AEIOU” to open the song not only adds musical depth, but rhythmic syncopation as well. The production quality is immaculate, and the tender and easy vibes the song presents are extremely comforting. Wasner’s vocal performance is soft while being effortlessly supported by the backing vocal harmonies and instrumental accompaniment. The song is an epic opener for No Horizon, and is a masterful blend of style and genre.
“This song is about the inadequacy of language,” states Wasner of “AEIOU.” “It was written around the time that those currently in power took it upon themselves to think that they could minimize the existence of certain people by removing the words that we currently use to define them—like transgender—from use. Language is bigger than the powers that try to control it, but we are so much bigger than language. We are so much more than anything that can be suggested with words.”
Wye Oak last toured together in February and March of this year, just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the live music world. The duo was scheduled to play the Independent in San Fransisco and Hollywood Forever Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles in late March before the global pandemic struck, but the Independent show has since been rescheduled to July 22.
Check out the cover art and track list for No Horizon below:
No Horizon EP track list:
- AEIOU
- No Place
- Spitting Image
- (cloud)
- Sky Witness
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna