II: Iâve Been Carving My Elbows, I Might Just Take Flight // WHY?
Label: Joyful Noise Release Date: June 12, 2019 Album: AOKOHIO (8/30/2019)
Overall Rating: 8 - Refreshing Reason: 8 Deleterio Motilis: 8 Stained Glass Slipper: 6 Standout Track: Reason (Feat. Lala Lala)
In a Sentence: This latest group of songs is a nice mix of familiar sounds and new details from WHY? that leaves me excited and waited for more. Listen Here
Today was a good day because it brought us WHY?âs second mini-release of songs from their upcoming album, AOKOHIO. I definitely needed something to take my mind off of this desert heat. With six parts and eighteen total songs, Itâs an interesting way to release an album, but I canât say WHY? has ever bored me. Iâm grateful for more than a single at a time, but I am itching for more tracks like an EP. The sound of these songs continues mostly in the direction they have been taking since the release of Eskimo Snow but once again stays true to what makes WHY? sound like WHY?. They have managed to grow with every album without leaving behind what makes them special to me.
âReasonâ features Lillie West of LALA LALA singing some harmonies and she pops up a few times in the music video. Itâs jaunty like Moh Leanâs âThis Ole Kingâ and has little jangles of bells here and there accenting each chord change. As my favorite song in this movement, I really wish it were a bit longer. Of note is Yoniâs falsetto with a slight hint of vibrato, which I personally havenât heard from him before. It is beautiful and what initially caught my attention and also made me want to listen again. I wasnât actually positive if it was Yoni or Lillie for most of the day, but itâs the catchy part for me that makes me keep restarting the video. I would love to hear more of this style going forward. âReasonâ actually ends instead of fading or transitioning into the next, and itâs slightly awkward in the format itâs presented in.Â
Because of the silence and sudden change, it takes me a moment to really get into the groove of the second track, but fans of Mumps, Etc.âs âBitter Thoughtsâ and âPaper Heartsâ or Sod in the Seedâs âShag Carpetâ should take to âDeleterio Motilisâ quickly. Theyâre similar in both lyrical content and rap style. There are soft female vocals behind Yoni Wolfâs rhythmic speech and higher octave harmonies in the chorus, both of which I consider essential elements of WHY?âs sound. Itâs even stylistically similar to older songs like âBad Entropy.â Although in the previous track, Yoni and Lillie are both asking for a reason, this song elicits the strongest feeling of longing.Â
The transition from âDeleterio Motilisâ to âStained Glass Slipperâ feels a lot more natural. Itâs the most upbeat song in the movement, and I instantly start tapping my foot to the chunkier bass. This song could easily fit right in on Sod in the Seed, both in style and lyrical content. There are also slight hints reminding me of âThe Water You Walk.â The lyrics tell another story of love for a young woman, this time Yoni admits âthe subject was too young.â Â Alopeciaâs âTwenty Eightâ was perfectly age-appropriate, then came âTwenty Sevenâ on Sod in the Seed and now someoneâs âturning twenty-five on the twenty-sixth.â This song feels more hopeful than any of the others, though.Â
Overall and with the exception of the moment of silence between the first two tracks, this really does feel like one long song. There is always something catching your eye, as Miles Joris-Peyrafitteâs âvisuals cut contemporary footage of Yoni and actress Tatiana Maslany with vintage home videos documenting Yoniâs childhood life in Cincinnatiâ and between overlays and quick cuts, there is plenty competing for your attention. With this project, AOKOHIO, Yoni wonders, âis there a word for bad nostalgia?â This album is personal and reflective, but it isnât the warm and fuzzy parts of the word nostalgia, itâs the longing and wishing, itâs âabout reflecting on the anxieties [heâs] had since [he] was born.â The quick clips at 1:08 and 1:14 particularly evoke this second-hand negative nostalgia in me. These songs are easy to relate to both lyrically and visually, and I am eagerly awaiting the third movement.













