Black Friday Mumps

"Let's review some recent facts."

Those are the first words mentioned from WHY?'s front man, Yoni Wolf, in three years.  Humorous, yet to the point.  And shortly after this introduction on the lyrically hip-hop focused 'Sod in the Seed'( first track on the Sod in the Seed EP), Wolf comments, “leave you home dreaming of the whole nine yards” which again, is comical and direct.  The latter boastfulness concocted from Wolf echoes both his gifts as a wordsmith and the silly bravado rappers pretend to carry.  But unlike the thug attitude most rappers try to evoke, Yoni is the only one capable of keeping his ego in check.  The first song on WHY?'s new LP, Mumps,etc., has Wolf admitting, “I know what I’m deserved of/a freaking dirty dove, dead in a bag of bread from a sellout club."  Make no mistake, Wolf takes his craft seriously, but he's not in the business of believing he's the greatest.  Because that would be silly.  However, after several months of listening to WHY?'s Sod in the Seed and Mumps, etc., I'm beginning to wonder if Yoni even believes he's still capable of greatness?

After seeing WHY? rock the Wonder Ballroom three years ago, I elevated them to 'favorite band' status.  In the months following that show I hunted down non-WHY? recordings Yoni had worked on (Hymie's Basement, Reaching Quiet's In The Shadow of the Living Room, cLOUDDEAD), some stuff from Fog and a solo release from Josiah Wolf (Yoni's brother and an incredible drummer to watch).

It should be noted the flyer for the Ballroom show contained art from Alopecia, not Eskimo Snow.  This was strange back then, seeing that Eskimo Snow had recently been released.   Even the show’s set list contained nine Alopecia songs compared to five from Eskimo Snow. 

Lately, I’m convinced the poster wasn't a mistake.  Nor was the band's focus on which album to spotlight, despite Eskimo's release date.  While Alopecia went for the jugular with its humorously explicit, edgy, and blend of pop-hop you could dance to, Eskimo Snow, hit with smaller punches.  It was a folk story, less hip-hop, with more standard song writing.  Even Yoni admitted it was the least hip-hop thing he had ever done.

WHY? Sod in the Seed EP
Anticon

After spending summer and autumn months with new WHY? tunes and revisiting Eskimo Snow, the more apt I'm to believe Eskimo as a palette cleanser rather a band on a new trajectory.  From the first lines and beats on Sod and Mumps, I hear more or less of what I expected.  Sod in the Seed starts off like a WHY? fan might expect, highly lyrical and beat driven, but the song just chugs along.  The fourth track, 'Probable Cause', is the most singable and melody rich track on the EP, but ends after a mere 62 seconds, never revisiting the chorus or inking another verse.  The layered voices that start 'Shag Carpet' lead the procession into lands similar to stuff found on Alopecia, but again, never really excite beyond the idea that WHY? is a great band capable of better.

WHY? Mumps, etc.
Anticon

 ‘Jonathan’s Hope’ begins Mumps, etc. with vocal hums and toy piano before the smushed back beats missing from Eskimo drop, while claves and a soprano ‘oh oh oh oh’ jabs the melody.  It's a promising start, even if Yoni already sounds tired of himself.

The street cred swagger clicks into place on ‘Waterlines’. The lyrical content is on par with anything Yoni’s delivered. Same with chorus infused mariachi ‘White English’.  The song is more hip-hop flavor, but never really delivers on the pop sparkle WHY? have carved out on previous albums.  The strings and snare crack on ‘Distance’ are spot on, but the chorus is a bit of a letdown.  Yoni raps about aging past thirty, abandoning his sound man, and ending the show.  It’s similar to the solemn moments heard on Eskimo.  ‘Thirst’ pulls in great vocal chants, percussive shakes, and the elementary understanding we will thirst until truth speaks.  ‘Kevin’s Cancer’ opens with “there are no indisputable histories of Christmas/ playing possum in a P.O. Box with the key or receiving good time.”  I won’t admit to understand it, but Yoni seems so sure of himself only to shrug 40 seconds later, when he yields the line on the album's greatest chorus, “No, I know with no uncertainty/that I’m uncertain and I don’t know."

Yoni wanders through most of Mumps expressing the idea of running out of ideas, wanting to do something else, whether alone, or with a new band.  He’s confident that he’s not confident.  Despite the thick honesty Mumps can sound like an existential mess.  To make matters worse, the band mostly plays in Yoni's shadow.

After a dozen listens I’m not sure the soft instrumentation and over used existential meanderings to be intentional.  It's just what came out during studio time.  Sure, I still desire to sing along with most of the songs found on Sod and Mumps, but I'm more interested in (concerned) what's next for WHY?.  Will Yoni actually live out his lyrics and quit writing and performing with WHY?  Doubtful (read - I hope not).  But this album doesn't leave me home dreaming of what else WHY? could do.  Rather, what could eventually trip them into a bowl of granola or just continue leading down blasé street.  The best assessment points Sod in the Seed and Mumps,etc. sounding like the band I love, but not in the trophy case I’d built for them.




Yoni Wolf, Liz Wolf, Doug McDiarmid (back) and Josiah Wolf