WHY? share haunting new single / video ‘Jump’
WHY?’s Yoni Wolf | Photo Credit: Madeleine Hordinski
WHY? shared the hauntingly dreamlike track ‘Jump’, the latest single previewing the band’s forthcoming new album, The Well I Fell Into, due August 2nd (Waterlines). The heart-rending song floats over a mournful piano arrangement and lyrically reflects the poignant themes of the LP: losing oneself, and the pursuant attempts to recapture it. “'Jump' was written at various times (starting around 2014 and finished in 2022) from the same hopeless, desperate feeling,” says WHY?’s Yoni Wolf about the track, which premiered this morning via FLOOD Magazine and is out now alongside a fittingly off kilter Scott Fredette-directed video. “It’s a pessimistic song for sure but it’s at least a reaching out. It asks for help. It’s written from deep in trough state, but the songs around it on the album carry the hope and walk it home–so hang on (haha). I feel like our music is for people who’ve been through some shit and are still here trying to be better. Some songs– like ‘Jump’–are written from deep within that shit. But there’s always a sunrise after. There’s always someone around you who will call.”
Director Fredette explains the visual: “Coming off a more technical video for ‘G-dzillah G'dolah,’ and a compromising bout of sickness for Yoni, he wanted to go DIY and raw and fast. We filmed this in 3 evenings, using one toy lens with one light, and edited it in several days (thank you Evan Cutler Wattles). The only thing we did before we started filming was a motion test to see what type of walk looked best backwards. Very little planning, and made things up as we filmed. It wasn't precious and that I think is good for WHY?.”
‘Jump’ follows album singles ‘G’dzillah G’Dolah’ and ‘The Letters, etc.,’ which earned praise and support from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Paste (‘Notable Best Songs of Week’), Treblezine, and more. WHY? will celebrate the LP with an extensive North American tour, which includes stops at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom (August 23rd) and LA’s Lodge Room (September 14th). A full itinerary is listed below with tickets on-sale here.
Though every WHY? album since 2012’s Mumps, Etc. was recorded at various home studios, Wolf and his bandmates Josiah Wolf, Doug McDiarmid, and Andrew Broder tracked The Well I Fell Into with Brian Joseph (Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver) at Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s Hive Studio. The move resulted in compelling and accessible arrangements that not only grounded the album’s songs but also enhanced their already strong hooks. “On this album, I'm very interested in classic songwriting," explains Wolf, who also enlisted a cast of collaborators to flesh out these recordings, including Gia Margaret, Finom's Macie Stewart, Lala Lala's Lillie West, Serengeti, and Ada Lea. "I want my songs to be able to be played unadorned by just one person and still hold up. Any production frills should only serve to elevate the song further without being relied upon to tell the story."
No matter the genre experiments and thematic departures, WHY?'s discography is remarkably consistent, anchored by Wolf's disarming lyrical transparency. His writing is provocative, self-lacerating, and always considered, coming from a place of blunt emotional openness. Though the dissolution of a years-long relationship inspired Wolf to start writing, he considers The Well I Fell Into autofiction, a chance to interrogate his grief and his journey to acceptance rather than to air out the real-life details of a painful loss or pick at emotional scabs. "This is not a bitter kiss off," he says. "While the songwriting was cathartic, I can see my life beyond some story or mythology I've cornered myself into artistically. I'm not getting stuck in sentiment like I might have in my 20s."
The Well I Fell Into is an ultimately hopeful record. While it deals with messy emotions, it tackles them with a disarmingly lucid candor and a profound grace. There are no external villains or wallowing, just a frank dissection of the past and a diligence to move forward. For that, the album stands near the top of the WHY? catalog as a document of an artist pushing through and finding some sense of peace.
WHY? live dates:
16/08 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
17/08 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
18/08 - Durham, NC - Motorco
20/08 - Washington DC - The Atlantis
21/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
23/08 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
24/08 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair
26/08 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground
27/08 - Detroit, MI - El Club
28/08 - Chicago, IL - The Outset
29/08 - Vivarium - Milwaukee, WI
04/09 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
06/09 - Dallas, TX - Deep Ellum Art Co.
07/09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
10/09 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
11/09 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge
13/09 - San Diego, CA - VooDoo Room
14/09 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
15/09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
17/09 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
18/09 - Seattle, WA - Washington Hall
20/09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
21/09 - Denver, CO - Meow Wolf
23/09 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
24/09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
25/09 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
27/09 - Cincinnati, OH - Woodward
28/09 - Nashville, TN - Blue Room
