Discographer #3 - The What of Why?

$Full-Length Album Retrospective: Eskimo Snow (2009), Alopecia (2008), Elephant Eyelash (2005), Oaklandazulasylum (2003) As the restlessly creative Messianic Jew behind the ever-evolving Why? moniker, Yoni Wolf has established himself as one of this generation’s most interesting and inventive musicians. Based out of the typically heady Berkley, California, Wolf has built a career out of refracted pop music; shot though a lens of hip-hop turbulence and urban angst, the music of Why? is simply unclassifiable. Paradoxically, Wolf's career thus far has followed a rather traditional trajectory, beginning with rudimentary (though often inspired) home recordings, before the artist enlisted a full band to help flesh out his tape experiments. This move from the experimental to the concise culminates with the release of Why?'s latest album, this year’s intriguingly opaque Eskimo Snow. In the interim, Wolf has split time in other Anticon-related side projects, most notably cLOUDDEAD, his collaboration with Odd Nosdam and Subtle’s Doseone, as well as sporadic collectives such as Themselves and 13 & God. Of course, only a mind this mercurial could produce a run of records so oddly compelling; and if not always a complete success, Wolf’s work is nonetheless consistently compelling. Therefore, his individual albums as Why? have a tendency to allure and confuse in equal measure, as evidence by our staff’s contrasting opinions regarding each standalone work thus far. Why? is nothing if not a great talking point though, and to facilitate such consideration, here are four albums that deserve every bit of deconstruction and debate. The What of Why?, indeed. Jordan Cronk And check out... • Feature: Discographer #1: Yeah Yeah Yeahs • Feature: Discographer #2: Who Are Wilco? Feature By: IN REVIEW ONLINE$ shapeimage_1_link_0

October 7, 2009

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In Review Online (InRO) was created by Editor-in-Chief Sam C. Mac • About • Contact • Staff • site designed using iWeb