Baltimore indie duo Wye Oak caught our attention when they released their second album, If Children, in 2008. Since then, they released The Knot in 2009 and dropped the EP My Neighbor / My Creator earlier this year. For their upcoming third album, the band skipped out on previous self-production techniques, bringing on producer John Congleton (Black Mountain, St. Vincent, the Walkmen).
The record is called Civilian, and a press release describes it as "a kind of 21st century folk music, imbued with dense shoegaze guitars, nearly melodic rhythms, and impeccable splashes of electronic color." Guitarist and vocalist Jenn Wasner adds, "This collection of songs is called Civilian because I believe everyone wants to be normal. " She also cites "aloneness (the positive kind), loneliness (the horrible kind), moving on, and letting go (of people, places, and things)" as the album's main themes.
Merge Records will release Civilian on March 8, while City Slang will issue it a day earlier in Europe. The album will be available on vinyl, CD or as a digital download. The record's title track is available for download here.
In addition to the album release, the group will kick off the new year with a hefty batch of North American tour dates that includes Canadian stops in Montreal and Toronto with the Decemberists and in Vancouver with Callers. All dates are available below.
Civilian:
1. "Two Small Deaths"
2. "The Alter"
3. "Holy Holy"
4. "Dogs Eyes"
5. "Civilian"
6. "Fish"
7. "Plains"
8. "Hot as Day"
9. "We Were Wealth"
10. "Doubt"
Tour dates:
1/24-26 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre *
1/28-29 Boston, MA - House of Blues *
1/31 Montreal, QC - Olympia de Montreal *
2/1 Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy *
2/2 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre *
2/4 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
3/11 Washington, DC - Black Cat
3/12 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
3/13 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
3/15 Norman, OK - The Opolis
3/21 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture %
3/22 San Diego, CA - Casbah %
3/24 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo %
3/25 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill %
3/27 Vancouver, BC - Media Club %
3/29 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios %
3/31 Nampa, ID - Flying M Coffee %
4/1 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court %
4/2 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge %
4/3 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr %
4/4 Iowa City, IA - The Mill %
4/5 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club %
4/6 Appleton, WI - Lawrence University %
4/15 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
* with the Decemberists
% with Callers
The record is called Civilian, and a press release describes it as "a kind of 21st century folk music, imbued with dense shoegaze guitars, nearly melodic rhythms, and impeccable splashes of electronic color." Guitarist and vocalist Jenn Wasner adds, "This collection of songs is called Civilian because I believe everyone wants to be normal. " She also cites "aloneness (the positive kind), loneliness (the horrible kind), moving on, and letting go (of people, places, and things)" as the album's main themes.
Merge Records will release Civilian on March 8, while City Slang will issue it a day earlier in Europe. The album will be available on vinyl, CD or as a digital download. The record's title track is available for download here.
In addition to the album release, the group will kick off the new year with a hefty batch of North American tour dates that includes Canadian stops in Montreal and Toronto with the Decemberists and in Vancouver with Callers. All dates are available below.
Civilian:
1. "Two Small Deaths"
2. "The Alter"
3. "Holy Holy"
4. "Dogs Eyes"
5. "Civilian"
6. "Fish"
7. "Plains"
8. "Hot as Day"
9. "We Were Wealth"
10. "Doubt"
Tour dates:
1/24-26 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre *
1/28-29 Boston, MA - House of Blues *
1/31 Montreal, QC - Olympia de Montreal *
2/1 Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy *
2/2 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre *
2/4 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
3/11 Washington, DC - Black Cat
3/12 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
3/13 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
3/15 Norman, OK - The Opolis
3/21 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture %
3/22 San Diego, CA - Casbah %
3/24 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo %
3/25 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill %
3/27 Vancouver, BC - Media Club %
3/29 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios %
3/31 Nampa, ID - Flying M Coffee %
4/1 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court %
4/2 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge %
4/3 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr %
4/4 Iowa City, IA - The Mill %
4/5 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club %
4/6 Appleton, WI - Lawrence University %
4/15 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
* with the Decemberists
% with Callers