Pitchfork why sod in the seed

Mumps, etc. Sod in the Seed. Eskimo Snow. The Hollows EP. Rubber Traits EP. Elephant Eyelash. Sanddollars EP. News 23 Show All. Bill Callahan, WHY? Video: WHY? Announce New Album, Mumps, etc. Listen: WHY? Play Track Add to queue. Tracks Rap Rock. It might sound counterintuitive to claim that restraint would've worked to WHY?

A large part of the appeal of records like Alopecia and Eskimo Snow was that they let Yoni Wolf run rampant lyrically and emotionally, all while his band exploded the boundaries that would have kept them in either indie rock, hip-hop, or even "indie rap. Whether it was the result of taking an unusually long time off between records or not, Wolf has sunk even further into himself, but not to discover some sort of deeper truth about the human condition.

Instead, a sizable portion of Mumps, etc. Doesn't matter if it's The Wall or from the perspective of a guy who admits, "I make decent cash, I'm a minor star," as Wolf does on "Sod in the Seed" ; the "lot of the touring musician" album has a great track record of establishing the frightening point when an artist feels entitled to a listener's empathy despite having their most distorted sense of self.

Yet it's not unthinkable for Wolf to find pathos in this scenario, since at WHY? But it's nearly impossible to find Wolf's situation interesting because I'm not sure he thinks it is either.

During the sickly mariachi lurch of "White English", Wolf engages in impressive verbal gymnastics in order to avoid saying what he actually means, and it's summed up by its diffident hook: "Lost in translation. He might thirst like that, but how the hell are we supposed to know what "that" means? But when really getting to the bottom of why Mumps, etc.

Musically, it's perfectly fine and a logical dovetailing of Alopecia 's sharp hybrid of hip-hop and indie rock with Eskimo Snow 's forays into post-rock and folk, if maybe sidling a little too close to the sort of Danger Mouse -style pop-hop it knows it can't be. Despite the sturdy look of the tracklist, the EP clocks in at around 15 minutes, about a third of which is taken up by "Sod in the Seed", which is also the only one that will reappear on their upcoming full-length Mumps, etc.

But while Wolf has previously been at his best going into as uncomfortable detail as possible, strangely enough, Sod actually benefits from the sketch-like character of its remaining songs. At first, the brevity of "Probable Cause" grates-- in subject matter and length, it's basically a hardcore punk song or hip-hop skit.

Yet there's a compact emotional arc in Wolf's pouring his heart out to a cop at a DUI stop who then lets him go on his way after a backhanded insult. While "For Someone" is definitely disjointed musically, its merger of Asian drums and chimes is as ornate and complicated as the trapdoor contraption described in its lyrics, the sound of WHY?

Later, "Twenty Seven" pulls a typical Wolf feint, describing in pitch-black detail what he's thinking so that you'll think, "oh, well at least he's not doing that," in this case, plucking feathers from a bird like a daffodil's petals and making a birthday present out of its bones. But to get there, you have to scythe through so many overripe zingers about buying parkas at Marshalls, wearing togas to Kroger, and other admissions that read like "Good Friday" ran through a thesaurus.

The problem with "Shag Carpet" and the Sod in the Seed EP as a whole isn't the content of Wolf's neuroses, nor is it the use of unfettered honesty in the hopes that someone might relate and both parties feel a bit less crazy.