Wye Oak is an Americanindie rock duo fromBaltimore composed ofAndy Stack (drums, keyboards, backup vocals) andJenn 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 asindie 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]
The band was formed as Monarch in mid-2006,[1] before changing their name to Wye Oak, a reference to the formerstate tree of their home state of Maryland. They released their first album,If Children, independently in 2007 and subsequently signed toMerge Records in 2008. The label re-releasedIf Children that year; a second album,The Knot, followed in 2009.[6] Both albums were recorded at the recording studio atUniversity of Maryland Baltimore County, where Stack was a student, withThe Knot submitted as Stack's senior project.
Their third album,Civilian, was released in March 2011 by Merge in the US andCity Slang in Europe. The title track was featured inThe Walking Dead during the tenth episode of season 2, titled "18 Miles Out", and also inSafety Not Guaranteed.
They followed withShriek in April 2014.[7] In 2016, they releasedTween, consisting of leftover material recorded betweenCivilian andShriek.[8]
On April 6, 2018, their next full-length album,The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs, was released.[9][10] For theirThe 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]
