Wye Oak

The droll tone and fleeting sweetness of a Yo La Tengo are cut into the more deeply textural concerns of shoegaze in the Baltimore group's work. It's an interesting alignment, given the contrast in senses of humor. But Wye Oak successfully shed tonnage from the latter without losing potency. Wye Oak (formerly known as Monarch) are Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Jenn & Andy have been playing music together and apart in Baltimore, MD, and chose their name from the honorary state tree of Maryland.