There is something fragile, yet so muscular about Wye Oak‘s debut album If Children.

Jenn Wasner’s vocals are plaintive, honest and simple to the point where I want to listen until I am able to figure out every lyric. It’s a beckoning tone and when she sings “I am family glue, leaving a legacy of ‘tell me to’” you just NEED to know what she’s singing about. Over the eleven songs on the album, this duo from Baltimore, MD takes listeners through all kinds of different feelings and situations. Many highlights include the 16-bar blast of musical noise that happens in the middle of album opener “Please Concrete“, the multitudes of winsome overdubbed strings on the aforementioned “Family Glue“, the bounce and squawk of “Warning“, and the percussion on “Keeping Company“. Preview some of these songs at the audio page on their website.

Wye Oak will perform this Saturday, May 3rd at Valentine’s in Albany, NY on a CRAZY bill put on by Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned featuring sets by Audrey Ryan, Brown Bird, and Bernice Marie. Show starts at 8PM and costs $5 or $7 depending on who you ask.