Wye Oak are an indie folk

Indie folk

Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock. A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith...

 rock duo from Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, USA, composed of Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, backup vocals) and Jenn Wasner (vocals, guitars). Their sound has been described as "earnest folk-influenced indie rock with touches of noise and dream pop". Wasner sings lead vocals and plays electric or acoustic guitar, while Stack plays both drums and keyboards, playing the drums with his feet and right hand, and the bass line with his left hand.

The band was formed as Monarch in mid-2006, before changing their name to Wye Oak, a reference to the former state tree of their home state of Maryland

Wye Oak

The Wye Oak was the honorary state tree of Maryland, and the largest white oak tree in the United States. Located in the town of Wye Mills, Talbot County, Maryland, the Wye Oak was believed to be over 460 years old at the time of its destruction during a severe thunderstorm on June 6, 2002, and...

. They released their first album If Children independently in 2007 and subsequently signed to Merge Records

Merge Records

Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...

 in 2008. The label re-released If Children that year, and a second album, The Knot, followed in 2009.

Their new album Civilian was released in March 2011 via Merge Records in the US and City Slang in Europe. An edited version of the title track was featured in the trailer for the second season

The Walking Dead (season 2)

The second season of AMC's television series The Walking Dead premiered on October 16, 2011 on AMC and will feature 13 episodes. The series is based on the series of comic books of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard; it was developed for television by Frank Darabont, who...

 of The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead (TV series)

The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for television by Frank Darabont and based on the ongoing comic book series, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard...

.

Discography

• If Children (independently released in 2007) - 2008
• The Knot - 2009
• My Neighbor / My Creator (EP) - 2010
• Civilian - 2011

External links

• Official website
• Official Myspace page
• If Children review Dusted Magazine
• If Children review Prefixmag.com
• Knot Review
• Interview about Hope Night, an Obama campaign support night organized by Andy Stack and Caleb Stine (Oct 2008)
• Interview with Greg Szeto of Aural States (Mar 2008)
• Quit Your Day Job feature on Stereogum
• Wye Oak - Quiet Giant Feature by Tim Newby for Honest Tune Magazine
• Interview on Musicletter, September 2009
• Wye Oak cover the song "Strangers" by The Kinks