Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack came together to make their sophomore record, The Knot, with a whole new set of challenges and expectations than they had when they made If Children. In the past, songs were written separately and they came together to work on arrangements. That method changed after the release of If Children. Jenn & Andy loaded up the mini-van and toured the US and Europe for nearly a solid year. When they returned to their shared house, the luxury of privacy was gone, but a new musical closeness was formed. “Musically, we were finishing each other’s thoughts,” says Jenn.

Andy says, “Having the chance to play these songs live for a year or so before going to record them gave us the chance to really explore them and tighten them up. On If Children, it felt like our default solution to any problem was to layer and layer more parts on top of one another.  We made a conscious effort to temper that impulse this time around, also as a result of feeling more comfortable with our live duo setup.  Of course, in certain songs, we couldn’t help ourselves and just had to pile it on!”

Jenn and Andy also took a big step forward in their roles as producers. Their increased level of comfort in the studio and improved knowledge of production techniques allowed them a greater palate with which to expand upon their compositions. Taking almost a year to write and record The Knot allowed these new techniques to influence their creative process in a way they had never done before. The result is a more focused sound.  The Knot reflects a burgeoning confidence and comfort while maintaining the intimacy and emotional directness that are the band’s hallmarks.