WHY? Surprise Releases Half of OH GOLLY / YES LORD LP, Drops New Single

WHY? have surprise released the second half of their forthcoming full-length album ahead of its October 30th release date via Waterlines. The album's bracketed name, Oh Golly / Yes Lord, distinguishes dual phrases that reflect the themes of the LP: an aggrieved sigh vs. harmonious acceptance, or, as Yoni Wolf puts it, 'bad attitude vs. good gratitude' ('It's my own way of categorizing my mindset,' he notes).

Beginning with track seven, the Yes Lord side out today includes the new single 'Story Of My Life'–a classic, hazy WHY? hip-hop track featuring kitty ray–which premiered via FLOOD Magazine alongside a video directed by Yoni Wolf and Scott Fredette. Other tracks out now include 'Northern Lights' (ft. Phantogram's Sarah Barthel), as well as the album closer and recent lead single 'In Spirit.'

''Story Of My Life' is about being indoctrinated with the cultural myth of The One and being plagued by perfectionism because of it. Love is all around us and yet this seemingly endless search goes on,' Wolf explains. 'The video was born out of the story in the first two verses of the song; an attempt to identify the moment of inception and locate the seeds of this myth within myself. Will I eventually root them out in therapy or in an ayahuasca ceremony or some s? Tune in to the full album to find out lol,' he adds of the video.

WHY? have also announced a fall headlining U.S tour to celebrate the release across small, non traditional venues. Promising 'a unique version' of their show, the tour includes stops at NYC's DROM on November 13th and LA's Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever on December 9th; a full itinerary is below and tickets are on-sale now. Oh Golly / Yes Lord is available for pre-order.

As Wolf reached middle age, he was beset by questions that had plagued him for years. Why was life so difficult and lonely? When would the happy part of him take the steering wheel? Far from wallowing, he leaned into the dark and the light, asking how and when real change was possible. Of course, transformation wasn't a foreign concept to WHY?, the mercurial project that's housed much of Wolf's neuroses and restless creativity since the late '90s. This time, the two sides of a man became the basis for a new album split in half, at times diametrically opposed. Oh Golly / Yes Lord airs all of Wolf's baggage while asking how a person resolves their different selves. 'The album is not a flattering look at my life, but that's not the point,' Wolf asserts. 'This is warts-and-all stuff. I'm always striving for honesty in WHY?, but Oh Golly / Yes Lord is particularly revealing.'

Though Wolf wrangles with his own sense of middle-aged desperation and anxious attachment throughout the album, he's also traversing waters many have waded into amidst the often-baffling landscape of online dating, social media, and all the other ways interactions are filtered through the digital world. WHY? has always been known for an intense connection with its listeners; Oh Golly / Yes Lord is WHY? making an album about the struggle to connect.

By Wolf's estimation, WHY?'s catalogue almost works in pairs. After the lush, band-driven The Well I Fell Into, he returned to a solo practice, seeking clarity in the unvarnished, close-to-the-bone arrangements of Oh Golly / Yes Lord. It mirrored the album's themes, a process and sound as intimate as the album's themes: Wolf alone, trying to figure himself out with little to hide behind and few people to lean on. 'This is me being me in real time,' he says. Eventually, Wolf welcomed a few carefully chosen contributors, including his brother and longtime WHY? consigliere Josiah and producer Andrew Broder (Fog, Lambchop), who each co-write a track for the Oh Golly side, as well as Ryan Olson (Poliça, Bon Iver), who consulted on some production. And after years of mutual admiration, Wolf ended up hanging in the studio with Nate Mercereau (André 3000, The Weeknd). Trading ideas and sharing recent work blossomed into an unexpected and extensive collaboration unprecedented in WHY?'s history. As Wolf aimed to locate the minimal sound he heard in his head, Mercereau worked on nearly all of the Oh Golly half, adding guitar arrangements, synths, and more that helped shape the final aesthetic of the album.

Sometimes the resolution is realizing there is no resolution. Any given day, balance might seesaw between the positive and the negative. If Oh Golly / Yes Lord has any answers, it's in trying to live with both halves vying for control. If all of the implausible musical contrasts of WHY? can thrive alongside each other, after all, why can't a person reconcile their disparate ways of thinking while still remaining open to growth? Or as Wolf considers it: Even the bad is OK sometimes, you just have to let it out.

WHY? U.S. Tour Dates

11/11 - Columbus, OH - Natalie's Grandview

11/12 - Lancaster, PA - Tellus360

11/13 - New York, NY - DROM

11/14 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church

11/15 - Washington, DC - Miracle Theatre

11/17 - Kingston, NY - Assembly

11/18 - Boston, MA - Arts at the Armory

11/20 - Lakewood, OH - Mahall's

11/21 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music

11/22 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme

12/01 - Denver, CO - Holiday Theatre

12/04 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door

12/05 - Vancouver, BC - Fortune Sound Club

12/06 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall

12/08 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall

12/09 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever

12/12 - Denton, TX - Fine Arts Theatre

12/13 - Austin, TX - Brushy Street Commons

12/15 - Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea's Live

12/17 - Nashville, TN - Elm

12/18 - Asheville, NC - AyurPrana Listening Room

12/19 - Cincinnati, OH - Contemporary Arts Center

Oh Golly / Yes Lord LP Tracklist

1. Sin Lite

2. What a Punim

3. Hare

4. Pretend So Real

5. Not Really A Stranger

6. Chaos Theory

7. Shine

8. Parks Tour

9. Story of My Life

10. Northern Lights

11. Décembre 16th

12. In Spirit

Need more Music Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...