Wye Oak

Everyday LikeThe Last – Merge

Wye Oak, with local Durham-ite Jenn Wasner and Virginia-based Andy Stack, are back with three new songs as part of a compilation of singles collected from 2019-2023. Their partnership has always been productive, and the new songs here bookend a wonderful selection of their recent output. The themes hit on the intricacies of life and the ambiguity of how to live in a world that is replete with chaos.

The new tracks – Track 9, “Repeat (If You Remind me),” is a slow slinker that showcases Wasner’s voice, as the emotions pour out with each high and low, complete with a cloud-like capsule of dreamy piano synths and shuffling drumbeats. The title track, “Everyday Like The Last,” is a calming acoustic guitar led tune that lifts one into a spa-like cushion of sounds. “I Learned It From You,” starts off with a brooding beat and echoey vocals, the pounding of the slow beat juxtaposed with Wasner’s angelic tones make this a heavy song that fills the listener with all the feels.

The previously released singles shine with track #6, “Evergreen,” a number that leans on lo-fi shoegaze as the base. Track 3, “TNT,” is a dreamy alt-country sounding tune. And track 5, “Fortune,” features a heavier tone, with the keyboard synths creating an eerie balance with the driving drums and crashing cymbals.

Any fan of Wye Oak will enjoy this collection and I hope that this collaboration will spur more full-length LPs in the coming year or so.

Favorites: 9**, 6**, 1**, 5**, 2**, 3**, and 4**.

– (h)earwitness