“Jaywalker” is like one of those gruesome old highway safety films, except the danger here is reckless moping rather than reckless driving. There’s always some dark fear or gnawing anxiety just under the surface of his songs. Shauf can be clever, but like John Darnielle-another writer given to self-imposed songwriting conceits-he’s never merely clever. It’s a fine setting for his distinctive voice, which chews on his consonants and wrings his syllables into unusual shapes. And the rhythm section seems to be mocking him on “Jeremy’s Wedding (Wilds),” especially that “Walk On the Wild Side” bassline. An electric guitar punctuates his worries on “Call” with a single funereal strum, then disrupts “Green Glass” with a riff as unruly as a cowlick. Forgoing the lush sound of previous albums, Wilds is lovingly, wryly minimalist, and he arranges these instruments-most of which he played himself-as though blocking a short play with a small cast.
Shauf has described it as a collection of demos, but that might actually be underselling it, because there’s as much wit in his playing as in his songwriting. By ceding control, Shauf allows the songs to wander wherever they want, paying their tab at the Skyline and heading out into the world.Įven as he extends his universe, he pares his songs down to their barest bones. Because it’s beholden to no overarching conceit, the music sounds looser, a bit wilder, more lackadaisical in a sadsack sort of way, its arc less predetermined and its themes emerging more organically. Despite such tortured origins, the album works surprisingly well. It’s all part of the Andy Shauf Extended Universe. It’s not strictly a sequel, but it’s not completely unrelated either. January 2023 20 – Fredericton, NB Shivering Songs (Solo) 21 – Halifax, NS Light House Arts Centre (Solo)įebruary 2023 21 – Columbus, OH Skully’s 22 – Nashville, TN The Basement East 24 – Ft.Wilds combines those two ideas into something that’s neither/nor.
November 18 – Mexico City, MX Corona Capital V Haddad, and featuring God and Jesus as main characters), Shauf’s 2020 Paste Studio session, the details of Norm and Shauf’s tour dates, all below. It opens up the mystery of the album, one that we’ll have to wait until February to fully begin dissecting. He starts the song by asking, “What happens when they die?,” a query that at first sounds lightly curious, but increasingly takes on the hard metal edge of anxiety-after all, this is Shauf we’re talking about.
The piano tinkles pleasantly over the track, but begins to take on the feeling of falling, rather than a pleasant melodic anchor. “Was all my love wasted on you?” he asks himself over and over again, trying to get to the root of an issue he can’t quite understand. But in typical Shauf style, not everything is quite as it appears, as the repeating lyrics hold a heavier side to them. Hearing the singer’s familiar subdued timbre on this latest track instantly infuses you with the comfort and warmth of familiarity, while the musical arrangements push his boundaries with a dancing lightness. But the closer you pay attention to the record, the more you’re going to realize that it’s sinister.” The musician warns, “The character of Norm is introduced in a really nice way. The album tells the story of a character named Norm. Shauf self-produced the LP, and played every instrument, creating this body of work in the early days of the pandemic, and challenging himself every step of the way. 10, 2023, on ANTI-, this LP seems to bring a slight change in style for the musician, as he reworks the gentle folk and pop harmonies he is known for, bringing hints of jazz into the mix. With a flutter of gentle piano notes and strings, Andy Shauf has released “Wasted on You,” the first single off his newly announced album Norm.
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