The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs by Wye Oak

Much like First Aid Kit at #10, Wye Oak is a duo that have been making music together for over ten years. Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack met while they were both in high school in Baltimore, and they’ve released six albums since then, all on Merge Records. You may also have heard Wasner with Dirty Projectors or Stack when he toured with the National / Menomena offshoot El Vy.

Aside from a couple songs that made it to my ears over the years, The Louder I call, The Faster it Runs is the first full album from Wye Oak that I’ve heard, and it’s phenomenal. The title song, shown above, is what hooked me on it. There was a brief time back in the spring of 2018 when I couldn’t stop listening to this song. And now I see that there’s a vastly different version of the song shown here in this video, where the band performs the song in the woods, removing the electronics and playing analog instruments, allowing the song, stripped back, to reveal something entirely different. There’s also a video for “It Was Not Natural”, another great song off this album.

The duo employs a mix of guitar, keyboards and drums, with Wasner’s crystal-clear voice punching through the din. The title song draws you in, but it’s the contrasts from songs like “Symmetry” and “Over and Over” that keeps you there. Pay attention to Stack’s drumming — as there’s nothing typical about the beats he picks. Don’t make any judgments on this album until you’ve listened to the whole thing, as I’m convinced there’s something here for everybody.

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10. Ruins by First Aid Kit
11. Cocoa Sugar by Young Fathers
12. Loner by Caroline Rose
13. Big Red Machine by Big Red Machine
14. I’ll Be Your Girl by The Decemberists
15. The More I Sleep the Less I Dream by We Were Promised Jetpacks
16. Joy as an Act of Resistance by IDLES
17. Hell-On by Neko Case
18. Superorganism by Superorganism
19. Living in Extraordinary Times by James
20. Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie
21. Black Panther: The Album by Kendrick Lamar
22. Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film) by Thom Yorke
23. Merrie Land by The Good, the Bad & the Queen
24. Room 25 by Noname
25. WARM by Jeff Tweedy
26. God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
27. Vessel by Frankie Cosmos
28. For Ever by Jungle
29. Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz
30. Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo
31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

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