Re-exploring the musical opus that is Why?’s Alopecia
By Maddy Cristall
This devastatingly distinctive record is an explosion of emotion, a landslide of sound and a field of poetry. It seems that fans of the criminally unrated band Why?’s Alopecia belongs to a secret society. The few that have spent time with this album become electrified with excitement when speaking about it with a like-minded empathetic freakshow. There is nothing particularly impressive about liking esoteric music or having unusual taste. The real feat is creating gonzo art that latches to others who often feel misunderstood in this otherwise alienating world. This album is jam-packed with misanthropic quotes worthy of wall hangings which I would take any day over ‘Live Laugh Love’. It is almost hard to really sink your teeth into the goosebump-inducing lyrics that Yoni manages to drench every godamn song with. It is said that when one is stabbed the worst thing to do is take the knife out, perhaps the same rule applies to powerful music. Let the wrath of humanity carve into your arteries. Alopecia dances with mental illness and manages to make a cohesive album out of this complex waltz. Now that I have my emotionally slutty preface our of the way, let’s deconstruct this opus further shall we?
Why? is a part indie-rock, part hip hop, part alien band from Brooklyn. It consists of brothers-Yoni and Josiah Wolf, Doug McDiarmid and Matt Meldon. Alopecia is the second studio record by Why? and was released in 2008. The album begins with the audacious ‘Vowels, Pt 2’ which makes it imminently clear that this record isn’t like any other. This song is more musically complicated than it is lyrically which makes it unique from the songs to follow. Sometimes when I listen to bands like this or Pavement and Ween, I ask myself -are you allowed to do that? That’s when you know a band has truly managed to get something right.
This is followed by ‘Good Friday’ which I don’t think I have ever successfully listened to without crying. This spoken word marvel contains a repetitive yet reverberating riff over noble prize-worthy lyrics. Said lyrics include ‘If I’m sinking laughing at something sunken, sunken in I am’ and ‘See you when the sun sets east, don’t forget me. We all know he is never seeing her again, unrequited love hurts more than anything.
We are then met with the shattering tracks ‘These Few Presidents’ and ‘The Hallows’ which showcase the band’s complex tapestry they have created. It offers listeners a temporary relief from the emotional waterslide they just got pushed down (it isn’t always a rollercoaster) with more confident and angry lyrics. A buffet of feelings are explored in this record and they all serve their purpose. This is followed by the earth-shattering ‘Song of Sad Assasin’ that becomes a fully realized song in the middle of it. Hearing Wolf repeatedly chant “Billy the Kid, did what we did and he died’ is an iconic musical moment. This incredible musicality merges gracefully into ‘Gnashville’ which is like a creepy lullaby you can’t un-remember.
The album then unfolds to arguably the most radio-friendly tune ‘Fatalist Palmistry’ which features more lyrics that are all worthy of being framed namely ‘ I sleep on my back because it’s good for the spine and coffin rehearsal’. The comparatively joyous ‘The Fall of Mr. Fifths’ delivers a bouncier hip-hop-infused number that prepares you for the wonderfully harsh ‘Brook and Waxing’. Then the album begins to connect all of its magical dots with ‘A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under’ this is a sound they have created and excelled at. It’s whimsical, weird and unpredictable.
The remainder of the album is nothing short of extraordinary, it’s as if they are celebrating the milestone of truly finding their sound. My personal favourite ‘Simeon’s Dilemma’ is the stuff of musical gods which is once again met with some of the best lyrics out there. It’s a stalker’s anthem and unapologetically vulnerable and conniving. That’s really the backbone of this band. They sing about things that we shame ourselves for feeling, dislike in other people and are ultimately afraid of. They let it all out while being clever and back it up with an impossibly complicated musical landscape. The album concludes with the dark and stormy ‘Exegis’ which glues back together with your shattered heart slightly different yet better than before. Cracks are how the light gets in after all. Wolf manages to bounce back between his jarring delivery to a soothing poetic monotone and they both serve a distinctive purpose. This album isn’t for everyone but neither is Burroughs or blue cheese, some things are meant to be acquired. This rather gooey testament doesn’t even do it justice, that’s impossible.
Why? performs in Vancouver on Saturday, September 14 at The Imperial as part of Westward Music Festival.