On July 8, Durham’s Wye Oak announced No Horizon, a five-song EP with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. The project will be released July 31 by Merge Records. Alongside the announcement, the duo also released lilting new single “AEIOU.”
Exploring the idea of horizons—edges, boundaries, heights, depths, the act of moving toward something—is big for Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner, whose last two singles were named “Walk Soft” and “Fear of Falling.” Their last album, The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs, was released by Merge in April 2018.
“AEIOU” is about the boundaries of language. As Wasner details in the press release, the song was “written around the time that those currently in power took it upon themselves to think that they could minimize the existence of certain people by removing the words that we currently use to define them—like transgender—from use. Language is bigger than the powers that try to control it, but we are so much bigger than language. We are so much more than anything that can be suggested with words.”
Wye Oak’s music has always had an aerodynamic feel, with Wasner’s voice hovering across intricate electronics and probing guitar work. The addition of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus expands that feel even further, offering new dynamism and promising, contrary to the title, new horizons for the band.
Watch the lyric video for ““AEIOU” below.
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