Part of The What of Why? (Disc. #3)

Review by Chris Nowling: Anticon artist Yoni Wolf’s second installment of his Why? project, 2005’s Elephant Eyelash, is notable for several reasons, but perhaps most importantly because it showcases the evolution of the band from its one-man beginning in 2003 into a full-fledged indie rock group. The music itself remains completely unique to Wolf, a sort of mutant breed of folk and avant-garde hip-hop that bears little resemblance to anything else, but while his solo debut, Oaklandazulasylum, sounds like a collection of fractured song segments with little in the way of recognizable structure, Elephant Eyelash more often resembles a pop album in form. Though some were disappointed at the (somewhat) more conventional approach, Why?’s second effort should at least be respected for presenting all that is most interesting about Wolf’s bizarre, brainy lyrical style in a way that it can be comprehended and enjoyed by a larger audience, with songs that are not just more traditionally constructed, but genuinely compelling and frequently excellent.

It would be a mistake to say that Wolf got tame however; his rhymes and off-kilter vocal style are as distinctive here as on anything else he’s done. But rather than forcing the listener to dig through the mess to find the most beautiful or striking moments, Elephant Eyelash offers his words in hook-filled indie pop tunes that allow for more fully-developed ideas and exciting, climactic moments. The album opens with the tricky percussion and acoustic guitar riff of “Crushed Bones,” a song that begins with one of Wolf’s brooding verses and eventually erupts into an explosion of percussion and shouting before returning to form. Following this is “Yo Yo Bye Bye,” a piano-led cut that similarly expands and contracts.  Both are perfect examples of the way in which Why? builds songs that successfully balance structure with Wolf’s experimental nature. The full band also introduces welcome variation, resulting in tracks that range from indie rock ballads “Gemini (Birthday Song)” to bouncy pop songs (“Rubber Traits”) to moodier, messier cuts (“Act Five”), with layers of guitars, piano, and synth enhancing what was previously a mostly electronic palette on Oaklandazulasylum.

As a songwriter, Wolf has continually chosen to wade through the darker, less pleasant aspects of the human experience, but though Elephant Eyelash contains some of the ugly wordplay that would become especially prominent on 2008’s Alopecia, there’s also a lighter, warmer side to the record. “Sand Dollars” includes some playful imagery while “Speech Bubbles” and “Gemini (Birthday Song)” have melodies so uplifting they even manage to offset the sometimes pained, lonely lyrics. The result is a set of songs that rarely makes complete sense or focus on one sentiment (sometimes combining joy and intense grief in the same song), yet over the course of 11 tracks Wolf manages to convey an impressive array of honest emotion that gives the album a very human core in the midst of all the head-spinning strangeness. It’s this mysteriously relatable quality that lifts Elephant Eyelash above any of Why?’s other records and makes his decision to expand the somewhat limited scope of his debut seem so wise in retrospect.

Elephant Eyelash isn’t a perfect record, but its weaknesses all seem to be part of the experience, somehow integral to the album’s purpose. Tracks like “Hoofs” and “Waterfalls” may not stand well on their own, but their presence on the album seems fitting, and even a less than spectacular final quarter doesn’t detract much from the fact that this is a solid effort from Why?, by their own or anyone else’s standard. By carefully blending familiar elements of indie, folk, and hip-hop with his unique musical perspective, Yoni Wolf’s sophomore effort transcends its flaws and remains his most accomplished and enjoyable album to date.

Last Word: Yoni Wolf’s first Why? album to include a full band, and second overall effort, is the most consistent and compelling record the experimental rapper/singer/songwriter has put his name to.

Review By:
Chris Nowling, Staff Writer

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