Wye Oak’s Vivid ‘It Was Not Natural’ Turns Introspection Into Insight

Talk about a misnomer. For a song called “It’s Was Not Natural,” the new Wye Oak single from their upcoming album The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs sounds like an extension of the band’s self, as much a part of them as their eyes or their arms. The Baltimore duo, made up of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, might have found the secret code of making music pulsing with synthetic elements feel organic, and as a result, “It Was Not Natural” beats with a vibrant heart.

Singer Wasner had this to say about the subject of the song, which turns introspection into insight:

“This is a story about finding an object of uncertain origin whilst walking through the woods. Or, if you’d rather: it’s about exploring the space between the things that we are socialized to believe about ourselves, and the actual truth of our nature—learning how to push the limits of the systems we’ve put in place to help ourselves make sense of chaos.”

You can check out “It Was Not Natural” above, and look for The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs out on April 6th via Merge. The album, their sixth career, follows their 2016 effort Tween and Wasner’s 2016 solo effort as Flock Of Dimes, If You See Me, Say Yes.

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