#nate young

[spilladabalia]

WOLF EYES [Chicago, 2004]

Wolf Eyes LIVE in Chicago at the Empty Bottle 7/3/04. Olson/Young/Dilloway lineup. "CLASSIC"

[zef-zef]

Wolf Eyes (2015)

Nate Young: vocals, electronics, programming John Olson: electronics, tapes, horns James Baljo: guitar (2013-17)

source: pioneerworks + inquirer + pitchfork © 📸: Alivia Zivich

[dialoogid]

Various Artists - Ecstatic Peace! Sweet Release #2 (2006) and #4 (2007)

[shed-some-light]

guys i moshed to godspeed my body is gonna hate me tomorrow

[idealrecordings]

(iDEAL Recordings)

[musicmakesyousmart]

Nate Young - Regression

iDEAL Recordings

2009

[ifeellikeaporsche]

A new multi-part solo series from Wolf Eyes’ Nate Young made its debut last month with Volume One: Dilemmas of Identity. Young’s always been capable of drawing me in with superior album titles and artwork, but to date the music’s not really left a lasting impression. It might be time to revisit his Regression series, because this new LP is as sharp as anything I remember Young’s done. He is somewhat muted across this record; there are the grating sounds one would expect, like the scrambled dial tone screams cast across “Mindless Voices,” but things mostly simmer rather than pop. Volume One seeds the clouds with unrecognizable sounds and relishes in what falls down. There’s “Crumpled Body”’s rusted waltz and 64-bit gale force winds; the squishy beat and piercing string lunges smashed together on “Dribbling Insane”; or the surprisingly rich refracted piano on standout “Vents of Blue.” Only “Flushing” fails to connect, notable only for its lack of movement and significant gaps. It makes for an especially puzzling inclusion when download-only bonus track “Pardon the Mess” comes around, but the misstep’s forgotten by the time I start over with the warm chords that open “In the Shadow of.” The press release says these songs were “commonly made as a distraction from grief, seasonal depression, and isolation,” noise as a vehicle to worlds away from one loaded with quiet despair. Young smartly dodges the maudlin, instead flipping grief inside-out and stepping on it and recording the wet sucking noise. That the whole of Volume One turned out as engaging and unusually gorgeous as it did is the real surprise, functioning as both an elevation of the everyday and a chain from which to swing outta here. Who can find fault with that?

Volume One: Dilemmas of Identity is out now via Lower Floor. The LP is available from the Bandcamp link above or from the Wolf Eyes webstore, but your best (read: cheapest) bet is probably getting it from a local shop. Volume Two: Nightshade drops soon on cassette.

[ohtheyloveusamericanboys]

2014 // 2018

The saddest boys to the happiest.