Wye Oak

Though they don’t have a new release quite ready, the Big Music Issue wouldn’t be complete without checking in via email with Jenn Wasner of local faves Wye Oak—and her solo project Flock of Dimes. She tells us about the bands she’s listening to, life on the road, and what she misses most about Baltimore.

City Paper: Who are some of the Baltimore bands that y’all are into these days?

Jenn Wasner: Horse Lords are the best new band in Baltimore and probably the world, hands down, easy.

CP: Since you spend so much time touring and seeing bands from other cities play, we’re interested in your take on Baltimore’s music scene.

JW: It’s better here. Better than everywhere else. Or at least more condensed, seeing as it draws from an improbably small pool of like-minded geniuses and weirdos, all running in the same circles and producing at a furious pace, ’cause here, we do it like we love it, and we do.

CP: In a Pitchfork interview, Beach House said they hate bands who change between albums. Your new [Adult Swim] track is a big departure. What do you think about musical change?

JW: I feel like that quote must be missing some context or something. Since when is it admirable to be predictable or creatively stagnant? If I didn’t feel called to make something new and challenging, why would I make anything at all? Of course Idon’t expect every listener to be 100-percent on board with every creative whim or departure I might have, but I have no interest in treading water, sonically or thematically. I think my only real purpose is to follow my bliss, take risks, and make songs that are exciting and challenging to me, and let others decide which of these speak to them personally.

CP: Is there a new album in the works?

JW: Yep.

CP: Your Flock of Dimes project has produced some really great songs. Are there other solo or side projects y’all are interested in doing?

JW: Of course! In addition to recording and performing as Flock of Dimes (announcing a new release very soon!), I’ve also constructed a pop alter ego who has been collaborating with Jon Ehrens (of White Life, Art Dept, etc.), with the sole purpose of writing the 10 catchiest bangers the world has yet known. Or something. More on this soon.

CP: What do you most miss about Bmore on the road?

JW: Our homes, our friends, our significant others, our families . . . what don’t we miss? Oh right, the filth, crime, heat, rats, and incessant, flagrant jaywalking.

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