Tween
Merge
2016
Rating: 8.5 squid landmines out of 10
All of the sudden, with little to no fanfare, Wye Oak put out a new record called "Tween." If you were listening closely when I found this out you might have heard me squeak with excitement, because I've been all about some Wye Oak for the last couple of years. A small part of it might be that I'm in love with singer/multi-instrumentalist Jenn Wasner, but it's mostly because they have such good damn songs (which certainly is one of the factors that makes me love Jenn so much SHHH NO ONE TELL HER I WOULD BE SO EMBARRASSED YOU GUYS).
Anyways...good record overall, possibly great. I don't love it as much as "Civilian" or "Shriek" yet, but I would not be surprised if it matched those two classics with more listens. After burying her guitars under a pile of keyboards and basses on "Shriek," Jenn seemingly rediscovered a love for them here - though still not at the level of shredding you hear in "Civilian." The best songs for my money are "Better (For Esther)," with it's badass synthy guitar solo, and "If You Should See," which sounds like a modern Cocteau Twins song, but better.
Definitely one of the best albums of the year, the only question is how high it will finish. Right now I would guess top 5, minimum.
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