Courtesy Coke Machine Glow
Alopecia was a striking record. Confessional, obfuscatory, visceral and innovative, it was last year’s best album, despite being so unlike any other release. Yoni Wolf somehow managed to take his shadow and put it on an LP—it was his most personal work yet, completely human. But what we gained from the lengthy work was a general comprehension of his neuroses, the allusive and metaphorical lyrics leaving much to the imagination.
Now, his second record in as many years is just out, culled from songs produced during the same Why? sessions that created Alopecia. Eskimo Snow shares much of its predecessor’s substance: morose and subverted lyrics, lush instrumentation studded with tinkling piano and bells, steady and powerful percussion and a gravity that’s hard to imitate. It fits perfectly into the trend of Why?’s recent work, which has consistently reached the level of high art. Wolf’s words wouldn’t be out of place in a poem, and the band’s fusion of otherwise dissonant styles is one of the most experimental acts going in contemporary music, and of these likely the most listenable. But at the same time, and in much the same way that Okkervil River’s The Stand-Ins complemented their The Stage Names, Eskimo Snow breaks off from and advances Alopecia without fully establishing its own autonomy.
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Just a reminder, but the fourth annual WXDU Record Fair is set for tomorrow at the Duke Coffeehouse from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. And if all that record hunting gets you hungry, fear not: Only Burger will be there. Check out further details here.
In light of today’s release of the Tucker Max-penned I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell movie (not a film–a movie), we’re presenting a round-up of all the Max-related events since the Raleigh, N.C. premiere of the film. We’re not suggesting you should give money to Max (Little Italy certainly doesn’t want you to), but here’s what we’ve got:
This weekend, Carrboro (and Chapel Hill too) is playing host to Liminal Festival. Organized by Felix Obelix‘s Wendy Spitzer, the weekend-long festival is designed to unite musicians bridging gaps between genres and also to bring them to a wider audience. The event kicked off last night at Chapel Hill’s Ronald McDonald House where Schooner‘s Reid Johnson played an outreach performance for patients and their families. Check out the rest of the schedule below and be sure to check out the festival too.
Tonight, Carrboro Century Center, 5 p.m., Free
The Lisps and Billy Sugarfix
Saturday, Sept. 25, Arts Center, 8 p.m., $7
Organos, Bee vs. Moth, Billy Sugarfix, Make a Rising, Felix Obelix, Wes Phillips
The Coffeehouse has just updated its schedule online. No big surprises: we already knew about Lovely Feathers, Troika, the Beast’s CD release and Islands.
New, however, are It’s Just Vanity playing with Antarctic and Greensboro’s the Bronzed Chorus and Princeton (which I believe has been advertised on the door for some time so not quite new) Oct. 16. The big announcement is Former Ghosts, fulfilling the Coffeehouse’s annual Jamie Stewart visit requirement. In addition to Mr. Xiu Xiu, the new super group includes This Song Is a Mess But So Am I‘s Freddy Ruppert and Zola Jesus‘s Nika Roza. Openers for the latter shows are TBA. In a more meaningful presentation of information:
Oct. 3 – The Lovely Feathers w/ Rural Alberta Advantage, $7
Oct. 9 – Former Ghosts w/ TBA, $5
Oct. 10 – Princeton w/ TBA, $10
Oct. 16 – The Beast CD release party w/ Carlitta Durnad, Kooley High and Freebass 808, Price TBA, 8 p.m. Show
Oct. 17 – It’s Just Vanity w/ Antarctic and the Bronzed Chorus, $5
Nov. 1 – Islands w/ Jemina Pearl and Toro Y Moi, $10
Nov. 5 – TROIKA (Future Islands, EAR PWR, The ExMonkeys, Molly Bancroft)
Nov. 6 – TROIKA (Birds of Avalon, I Was Totally Destroying It, the Pneurotics, the Ringing Cedars)
Nov. 7 – TROIKA (Lonnie Walker, the Travesties, Maple Stave, the Bronzed Chorus)
As always, shows are free to Duke students, doors are at 8:30 p.m., shows at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
