Customer Reviews

Elephant Eyelash

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

welp, looks like i'm the first to review the new Why? album.
these days i don't really like the whole critiqueing thing and whathaveyou. but i will say that this disc could be worth your time.

when i first heard why? was in the old days of Greenthink(with dose one), and a tape he put out, the name of which i can't recall. i do remember that i liked what he was doing, but got the feeling that maybe he wasn't fully realized yet. his style was a hodge-podge of universal themes and surrealistic impressions all delivered in a very tungue-in-cheek manner.
very cool, pretty darn original, but not mind-blowing.

then came his track on a compilation called ropeladder12(i apologize to all the old-school anticon fans for going over all this stuff, just trying to put together a full picture). on it he and oddnosdam made a mini-epic that was imho, the highlight of a compilation of above average songs. and of course, where most people were first introduced to this hiphop anomaly was through the clouddead album(or albums, depending on whether you bought the cd or the 10"s). dose one as usual stole the show, but why? really had by this point refined his quirky delivery.

okay, almost there! then there was 'reaching quiet'. at the time i didn't care for it, though it would grow on me. for the most part, it was snippets of unrealized songs, embrionic versions of what was to come.

there's another album in there somewhere that i never heard...
and some good eps.
okay! so! with oaklandazulasylum he decided to get a band together. smart move. all through his career he was thrown in with hiphop but always pushed the boundaries with his distinct harmonies and unusual approach to lyrics. with this new band why? got the chance to throw his melodic inclinations into full force. and it worked quite well.

now, i just got elephant eyelash. i am stunned. the songs are textured and complex, definitely indie-rock, leagues away from his hiphop roots. there is a absurdly cohesiveness to the whole affair. the lyrics are still his surreal trademark style, but he is definitely getting across more raw feeling with them. the songs are constantly soaring into different changes that send chills up my spine. i mean, the feeling is palpable. it's not emo, i don't think. but it is highly emotional. the lyrics and music fit together seamlessly. i honestly haven't heard an album that made me feel this ALIVE in over a decade at least.
on a personal note, this album has been changing my consciousness. "i'm f@@king cold like a dq blizzard/you act like a slut but you're really a freezer/we love and hate like a tattooed fist." this may seem trite but the music along with his soaring vocal line makes it more than the sum of it's parts.

well, at this point, words are pretty useless. i have always been a jaded listener, but this album blew away my defenses and forced me to view the world in a very intimate way. it's a beautiful thing for music to affect someone like that these days.

maybe it would have the same effect for you. check it out. peace.

>
You missed it! I've just checked out
your `Best of 2005 in Music' list and
you didn't even include Why?'s Elephant
Eyelash let alone place it at No.1 where
it belongs.

This is to rock music in 2005
what The Beach Boys Pet Sounds was in
1966. As a Limey I say - why can't
British groups do it? Be inventive/creative?
while still being commercial? The Beatles
did it (progressed) - who does it now?

The American group Why? can.
This album starts with a rap track, but
with a twist and a mite more melody than
most rap songs, though not lacking in any
gritty street cred. It digs with the best
of them. But then it opens out into a malange
of sounds and lyrics that may remind you of
Talking Heads, and Brian Wilson, but most
of all of The Mothers of Invention
circa 'We're Only in it for The Money'.

But we're not back in 1967, in case
you're thinking 'retro'. This is more cutting
edge 2005/6 than Madonna or Beck or eminem
- in fact it's the sound of Rock'n'roll Future!
I first heard this Why? disc played on the new
music BBC Radio 3 programme Mixing It (give the
guys credit). Where the Frank Zappa'ish 'Fall
Saddles' track - with it's weird sounds and
changes - just blew me away.

The Mixing It guys compaired it to
'up market' Pavement. If these comparisons
don't whet your appitite for a listen -
- you'll be missing out...

The Anticon crew have never been ones to create hip-hop according to what is expected of the genre, and Why? is no different. In fact, one could argue that on his past couple releases he's very nearly created an entirely new genre that is grounded in indie rock, but dips into hip-hop and several other genres for something that's refreshing and unique (but maybe a bit frustrating for fans of one genre or the other without an open mind to accept the other). Elephant Eyelash is no different, with Why? pulling together all his previous influences into something even more focused and cohesive.

The release follows up closely on the Sanddollars EP, which came out only a couple months back, but is leaps and bounds beyond that effort in most respects. Yes, the almost nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness lyrics are still there, but the sense of songwriting, melody, and even depth of instrumentation has been expanded upon. "Crushed Bones" opens the release with lyrics that seem to touch on past drug abuse, and the song lopes along with skittery programmed beats and some dense layers of guitars while "Yo Yo Bye Bye" opens with pretty ambience and piano melodies with almost slurring vocals before chugging into almost bombastic refrains that drive home the odd (and often clever) lyrics even more.

Tracks just keep on throwing out interesting bits after that, with "Rubber Traits" dropping some of the weirdest lyrics of the album alongside some chopped-up indie guitar instrumentation while "The Hoofs" drops glittery chimes and squiggling electronics alongside acoustic guitars and the nasally vocals of Yoni Wolf (one of four members of Why?). One of the highlights of the entire album, though, is the insanely poppy (and catchy) "Gemini (Birthday Song)," which drops lyrics that reference the album title. As with just about every track, the actual lyrics are nearly indecipherable, but they (and the instrumentation) are absolutely buoyant in terms of overall feel, and the joyous tracks is easily one of the best things that Why? has done to date.

Once "Sanddollars" (from the aforementioned EP) hits, the album takes a distinct turn towards more straightforward sounds, and the overall release suffers a bit. For several tracks in a row, the album takes on a much more straightforward indie rock feel with a few strange bits and the typically odd vocals and lyrics thrown in for good measure. Coming after the inventive and infectious opening seven tracks, it's a bit of a letdown finish. That said, I've still got to give Why? some props for continuing to defy any genre boundaries in throwing hip-hop, folk, indie rock, and a dash of electronics in the cuisinart and molding the final concoction into something so darn great at times.

(from almost cool music reviews)

For this effort and on the equally dope EP Sanddollars,Why? took it upon himself to add more members, without changing the name on his recordings. So essentially, Why? is now Josiah and Yoni Wolf, along with a host of other performers playing instruments and such. But Why? is also Yoni's stage name as it appears on prior recordings along with his work on Clouddead and Reaching Quiet, Hymie's Basement....Why, Why??? its confusing, but a spectacular hybrid of indie rock-hip-hop which is really quite enchanting and spectacular. An awesome work.

I bought the Why? album after listening to 'Rubber Traits' and expected another enjoyable album that the music could be compared to a standard band like Modest Mouse or the stereotypical straight-up indie/psychedelic band. But I started to realize that Why? was different. The album was incredible. They combine rock, hip-hop, psych, and even little traces of folk withen their music. No songs on the album are alike, each with it's own twist of of a musical style. But it's all good, if you like one song you'll like the whole album. Their lyrics can be humourous (Very little bands have lyrics involving DQ Blizzards, White Castle, and cut coffee sobers) and yet insightful lyrics that will pick you up and take you on a crazy, yet beautiful journey throught the world of Why?

This is a keeper. Elephant Eyelash is for anyone and everyone. This is a great buy from a band of ingenious, interesting guys.

The important thing to mention about his CD is that (aside from being a bit indie-pop'ish ) you haven't heard anything like it. This is true for almost all of anticon's releases.

Buy this CD and if you don't like it at first, listen to it about 5 more times. Like mentioned in a previous review, the imagery created by the bizarre metaphors and personification is amazing, and it keeps you listening.

Hear-hear for rock CD of the year!

There is real poetry on this record. Yes the lyrics are "weird" and not always narrative in form, but the associations and images they create are unique and satisfying. By forcing seemingly incongruous images together, he creates a lanscape of imagery that grows larger and more detailed as your mind labors to draw connections between those images. Because of this, the record gets better with repeated listening. For those of you interested in a straight-forward example of lyrical brilliance, these are the opening words of the song Speech Bubbles:

The rain is millions of tiny speech bubbles unused
The collected breaths of mutes and all our silent
Exhallations where we should've put words
Or words we had no one to tell
Emptied from clouds, like clearing horns' spit valves
Coming back to us now to remind us what we meant to say
Or that we meant to say something

Of course, half of the effect is in this singer/rapper's delivery. The way he combines rhythm with vocabulary is something special, kids.

Musically, the band really sounds orchestrated, but not in a chamber rock or God Speed You Black Emperor way. In general, the sound comes off like spontaneous moments that were discovered in experimentation and then nailed down with precision through repeated rehearsal. A few songs have seemingly unrelated parts that get to you the same way that the imagery in the vocals does (a feeling that reminded me of how I learned to love Animal Collective songs). What takes you off guard at first quickly becomes an addiction.

This is Why?s new album and it is by far his best. Now he is backed up with a band and it makes their music sound amazing. If you ever have the chance to go to one of their shows. Do it. You will be impressed.

that's about all i can say here. yoni's the man, i'm proud to call him a hometown boy. this album will make you think "hm... why hasn't anyone thought of this until now???" just... just get it. you'll be doing yourself a favor.