Tween

Tween

The word â€œtweenâ€ implies a certain, very specific kind of awkwardness, and those implications are rarely positive. But think about it like this: Something â€œtweenâ€ is in the process of becoming something else, and thereâ€™s a very specific kind of beauty in that becoming. Thereâ€™s something rewarding in recognizing and celebrating itâ€”in meeting it halfway. Now, before I start spouting clichÃ©s about the journey being more important than the destinationâ€”which isnâ€™t true when it comes to all music except jazz, and letâ€™s leave jazz out of thisâ€”let me introduce Tween, the new not-album by Wye Oak. If weâ€™re putting it simply,Tween is a collection of eight songs born, raised, and almost abandoned for various reasons during the years between 2011â€™s breakthrough Civilian and 2014â€™s reinvention-of-sorts, Shriek. Jenn Wasner and Andy Stackâ€”the bandâ€™s two halvesâ€”described these songs as â€œnot emblematic of a step forward, but a step sideways in time.â€ In other words, they just didnâ€™t make sense for album number fiveâ€”which will happen at some point in the future. But just because they didnâ€™t belong there doesnâ€™t mean they donâ€™t belong anywhere. To wedge them onto Shriek wouldâ€™ve been dishonest; to orphan them wouldâ€™ve been somewhere on the line between criminal and just plain silly. Now that your expectations are lowered, letâ€™s build them back up, because Tween is full of gorgeous Wye Oak songs whose only crime was timing and context, made by two people at the height of their game. At first these songs sounded too disparate to me to be called an album, but the more Tween sank in, the more it made sense: One minute Jenn and Andy are embracing their floatiest Cocteau Twins instinct (â€œIf You Should Seeâ€), the next theyâ€™re back in Civilian territory a bit (â€œNo Dreamingâ€), and later theyâ€™re slinky and electronic and gorgeously â€˜80s (â€œOn Luxuryâ€). The common thread: These are no castaways or cutouts. In fact, pound for pound, Tween might actually be more directly accessible than Shriek. It should join the pantheon of amazing not-albums of history whose names try to downplay how good they actually are, like R.E.M.â€™s Dead Letter Office, The Whoâ€™s Odds and Sods, maybe even Dinosaur Jr.â€™s Whateverâ€™s Cool With Me. Who knows what an album is at this point, anyway? Hereâ€™s what Jenn and Andy had to say: â€œWe rejoice in being free to make what we like and release it in a way that feels true, and you are free to enjoy it or dismiss it as it suits you. We hope, of course, for the former. Butâ€”all gimmicks asideâ€”we created this thing with love and are so happy to share it with you, whoever you are.â€ Theyâ€™re talking to you, and you should listen. â€”Josh Modell
Country USA
Artist Wye Oak
Binding Vinyl
EAN 0673855056418
Label Merge Records
Manufacturer Merge Records
NumberOfDiscs 1
NumberOfItems 1
Publisher Merge Records
ReleaseDate 2016-08-05
Studio Merge Records

Country	USA
Artist	Wye Oak
Binding	Vinyl
EAN	0673855056418
Label	Merge Records
Manufacturer	Merge Records
NumberOfDiscs	1
NumberOfItems	1
Publisher	Merge Records
ReleaseDate	2016-08-05
Studio	Merge Records

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