WHY? share lush new single ‘G-dzillah G’dolah’
WHY?’s Yoni Wolf recording the new LP | Credit: Graham Tolbert
WHY? today shared the at once minimalist yet lush ballad ‘G-dzillah G’dolah,’ the latest single previewing the band’s forthcoming new album, The Well I Fell Into, due out August 2nd (Waterlines). The track – set into motion by a twinkling prepared piano and an upright bass, as a stirring string section swells throughout – arrives with a Scott Fredette-directed video that captures an immersive and surreal showcase of the band's live show. "Our friend runs the XR (extended reality) program at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He has a huge XR Stage and students eager to learn. Yoni posed the challenge to students there to create thematically relevant content to play behind him, the band, and three dance majors from Miami University,” Fredette explains.
Of the song, WHY?’s Yoni Wolf explains: "Here, we come to a moment of doubt about the doubt. In an airplane, flying to meet his love after not seeing her for some time, our guy feels small and helpless at the prospect of the impending engagement. In her absence, he has reconstructed her into a towering monster within his affections; a G-dzillah G’dolah— the ultimate God shadow baddie. He assures her that when they see each other, they will ‘make it right,’ but it’s clear he’s only grasping at tatters of the past. He can feel it, she’s slipping away. He’s supremely intimidated and hates himself for losing her in the first place. The song is entirely spoken from thirty thousand feet up in anticipation of the meeting, so as listeners we are left without resolution or report after the fact."
“G’dzillah G’dolah” follows the album’s soaring, diaristic lead single “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 and tickets are on-sale here.
The Well I Fell Into is Wolf at his most cohesive and poignant: an autopsy of heartbreak, the album charts the ups and downs of a devastating breakup while trading bitterness for healing. Self-released on Waterlines, his new label that follows in the footsteps of Anticon—the trailblazing artist-run collective he co-founded—its 14 tracks stand as the band’s prettiest and most immediate work yet.
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 enhance the strong hooks grounding the songs. “On this one, 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.”
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 and no 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.
Full LP bio, hi-res press photos and LP art are available here.
WHY? Live Dates:
8/16 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
8/17 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
8/18 - Durham, NC - Motorco
8/20 - Washington DC - The Atlantis
8/21 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
8/23 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
8/24 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair
8/26 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground
8/27 - Detroit, MI - El Club
8/28 - Chicago, IL - The Outset
8/29 - Vivarium - Milwaukee, WI
9/04 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
9/06 - Dallas, TX - Deep Ellum Art Co.
9/07 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
9/10 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
9/11 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge
9/13 - San Diego, CA - VooDoo Room
9/14 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
9/15 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
9/17 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
9/18 - Seattle, WA - Washington Hall
9/20 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
9/21 - Denver, CO - Meow Wolf
9/23 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
9/24 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
9/25 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
9/27- Cincinnati, OH - Woodward
9/28 - Nashville, TN - Blue Room
