American indie rock band
Wye Oak is an American indie rock duo from Baltimore composed of Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, backup vocals) and Jenn Wasner (vocals, guitars and bass).[1] Their sound has been described as "earnest folk-influenced indie rock with touches of noise and dream pop"[2] as well as indie folk.[3] Wasner sings lead vocals and plays electric or acoustic guitar, while Stack plays both drums and keyboards, playing the drums with his feet and right hand, and the bass line with his left hand.[4][5]
History
The band was formed as Monarch in mid-2006,[1] before changing their name to Wye Oak, a reference to the former state tree of their home state of Maryland. They released their first album, If Children, independently in 2007 and subsequently signed to Merge Records in 2008. The label re-released If Children that year; a second album, The Knot, followed in 2009.[6] Both albums were recorded at the recording studio at University of Maryland Baltimore County, where Stack was a student, with The Knot submitted as Stack's senior project.
Their third album, Civilian, was released in March 2011 by Merge in the US and City Slang in Europe. The title track was featured in The Walking Dead during the tenth episode of season 2, titled "18 Miles Out", and also in Safety Not Guaranteed.
They followed with Shriek in April 2014.[7] In 2016, they released Tween, consisting of leftover material recorded between Civilian and Shriek.[8]
On April 6, 2018, their next full-length album, The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs, was released.[9][10] For their The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs tour during the spring of 2018, Wye Oak added bassist William Joseph Hackney to the live line-up.[11]
