LOS ANGELES, CA- It’s always satisfying to see and hear a band perform music that stretches your previous impressions. Baltimore based indie rock band Wye Oak did just that for for me during their opening set for Bon Iver at the Hollywood Bowl.
I’ll be honest, I had only been recently acquainted with Wye Oak’s music as one of my contributors covered a performance of theirs at SXSW. Their most recent album, The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs, is a solid effort, and really highlights their use of electronic elements.
At the Hollywood Bowl, however, Wye Oak performed William Brittelle’s Spiritual America, which originally premiered back in 2015. Accompanied by the Metropolis Ensemble, Jenn Wasner and and company took Hollywood on a dreamy trip through an melange of experimental sonics. While it was definitely a departure from their normal repertoire, it still had all of the dream pop vibes that they are known for … just with a exemplary string ensemble.
It was lush and moody and set a perfect tone as the sun slowly set in the west. After finishing Spiritual America, Jen and Company had time to perform two of their own songs, “My Signal” and “I Know The Law” (I think), also accompanied with Metropolis Ensemble before Jenn thankfully, and humbly, announcing, “We’re Wye Oak, and we just did a thing.” Yes, Jenn, you did.
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