Josiah Wolf - Jet Lag

If your game plan as a musician is to write random lyrics, rap with minimal ability to hit pitches, and throw indie drum-and-single-melody-driven riffs behind it all, I'd tell you two things. First, that sounds absolutely terrible. Then I'd tell you that it's already been done. Amazingly. By the Cincinnati/Berkeley-based band Why?. Mainly a product of the duo Yoni and Josiah Wolf, Why? has delivered this unique sound for almost a decade. Check out my review of their October 2009 release, Eskimo Snow.

Anyways, when I found out that Josiah Wolf, the drummer and background vocalist of Why?, was releasing a solo album, I was incredibly intrigued. Yoni's voice and lyrics are a major part of why I love Why?, so without Yoni, what's left? The answer is Josiah Wolf's March 29th release, Jet Lag.

At first listen, some parts stand out as great. The opening track, "The Trailer And The Truck", was in my head for days when I first listened to it. And I really enjoy "Ohioho", another song with a strong melodic hook. But the rest of the album was rather disappointing.

Josiah, as a solo artist, had some really rough challenges. Lyrically, Why? is known for it's rapping and randomness interspersed with brilliant lyrical one-line masterpieces. And that love of the random lyrics is very present in Jet Lag. However, the slow, emotion-laced vocal style of Josiah are lost in a blend of boring and meaningless. The emotions are lacking a sense of realness since the lyrics are perceived as random. The slow lyrics (as opposed to Why?'s rapping) don't have the same great effect. I'm stuck listening to his sometimes pushy/whiney vocal tone.

On top of vocal challenges, stylistically, Why?'s bells/piano riffs on top of fantastic drum-driven beats were only (understandably) slightly apparent in Josiah's album. And while it works in a few of the tracks, a lot of Jet Lag feels like it's missing the biggest piece - uniqueness.

SIDE NOTE: At some points, it's like Why? teaming up with a mellow The Flaming Lips intertwined with Iron & Wine-esque riffs. Check out "The Opposite of Breathing" and let me know if you know what I'm talking about.

I'm not going to lie. I was disappointed with the album as a whole. But the parts that work really are good. The first track gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it (in a good way). And the mellow layered sound can be perfect for a thought-driven car ride. But the album unfortunately tends to blend into itself. That being said, literally nothing short of a zombie emergency would stop me from seeing Yoni, Josiah, or the rest of Why? live. They put on an absolutely fantastic show.