Brooklyn’s indie rock eclectic elective Why? is definitely one of the most original and versatile artists to to receive well deserved attention in 2008.
With the release of their refreshing collage of songs on Alopecia, Why has etched themselves a place in modern indie rock. Many of Why?’s songs are completely different from one another that in a blind test it would be hard to say definitively that they are a set of songs from the same group. Electric eclectic is an appropriate tag.
Why? are very creative and accomplished musicians with a knack for eccentricity. This is part of what makes Alopecia so enjoyable, and definitely one of the best indie releases of 2008.
Whether they lay down – quite successfully we say – the rap in hip hop lo-fi tracks like “By Torpedo or Crohn’s” and “A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under” or engage in quirky musical experimentalism with songs like “Simeon’s Dilemma” – evoking comparisons to the glimmer psychedelic folk sound of The Flaming Lips.
The song “Fatalist Palmistry” is a memorable chorus-soaked pop song very much in the tradition of 1960s folk rock. Somehow Why? once again manages to pull off what most artists simply could not.
Other songs like “Song of the Sad Assassin”, featuring overtures to Billy The Kid and Lee Harvey Oswald, make it even harder to pigeon hole Why?’s sound more than any other band we’ve heard in quite a while. Next thing you know you’re listening to the song “The Hollows” with its Cure-like underpinnings.
Next, bubble gummy pop and drum machines predominate “These Few Presidents”, yet another original song that somehow manages to be kind of cool. Nevertheless, the album is not without its weaknesses. The short songs on Alopecia, like opener “Exegesis” and “Twenty Eight” (44 seconds in length) are forgettable.
The over-riding theme of Alopecia is one of constant surprises. Just when you think the band had out done itself, another track spins and proves you wrong. I’ve haven’t heard a record in a while from a relatively unknown band that instead sounds like an awesome compilation of the great songs from a line-up of talented artists.
What strikes me is that a creative writer could probably write an amazing story based on songs on Alopecia. It has all the elements of a great movie, in addition to being a spectacular album. In fact, Alopecia may turn out to be in the years to come must-have in any reputable indie rock music collection.
“The Vowels, Part 2” – Why? from Alopecia
