| WYW | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2017 | |||
| Genre | Post-rock | |||
| Length | 63:13 | |||
| Label | Deathwish | |||
| Producer | Jacob Bannon | |||
| Wear Your Wounds chronology | ||||
| ||||
WYW is the debut album by Wear Your Wounds, the moniker for Jacob Bannon of Converge's solo project. The album was released on April 7, 2017 through Bannon's own independent record label, Deathwish Inc. Writing for what would eventually become WYW began in the early 2000s after Bannon dissolved his other side project, Supermachiner. Music critics praised the album.
Though Wear Your Wounds is considered a solo project of Bannon's, the WYW album and the live band used to tour in support of it were sometimes referred to as a "supergroup" due to the number of high-profile contributors. The album features fellow Converge member and music producer, Kurt Ballou; The Red Chord guitarist, Mike McKenzie; former drummer for Trap Them and Coliseum, Chris Maggio; and hip-hop producer and former guitarist Hatebreed, Sean Martin. For live performances, Ballou was replaced by Adam McGrath of Cave In and Zozobra.
"I'm pleased with the fact that it's finally finished. When you're doing stuff on your own, there comes a point where you go, 'I may have started recording this song 11 years ago, but I need to give it to people or shut the fuck up.' That's where I was at with a lot of this stuff for a long time. I had a gajillion [sic] songs half finished—I had to either make time to finish or decide to never make time."[1]
"Just because you call it a different name doesn't mean it doesn't come from the same place."[1]
Background and writing edit
Since forming in 1990, the Massachusetts-based hardcore band Converge has been the primary musical output of Jacob Bannon. In 1994, Bannon along with Ryan Parker formed the experimental side project Supermachiner, who released their only studio album Rise of the Great Machine seven years later in 2000. Despite having plans to create "a three-disc concept trilogy,"[2] Bannon and Parker dissolved Supermachiner in 2000.[3]
Some of the few remaining demos where introduced to Converge during the Jane Doe sessions
That same year, and the few remaining demos
After the 2001 release of Converge's much lauded album, Jane Doe, Bannon started working on new material for a solo album.
Release and promotion edit
"Arthritic Heart" edit
Reception edit
WYW was generally very well received by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on four reviews.[4]
Track listing edit
All music is composed by Jacob Bannon[5]
| No. | Title | Performers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wear Your Wounds" | Kurt Ballou: guitar Jacob Bannon: vocals, guitar, bass, piano, electronics Chris Maggio: drums Mike McKenzie: lead guitar | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Giving Up" | Bannon: vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, electronics | 5:01 |
| 3. | "Iron Rose" | Bannon: vocals, guitar, bass, piano, electronics Maggio: drums McKenzie: lead guitar | 8:13 |
| 4. | "Hard Road to Heaven" | —[a] | 4:36 |
| 5. | "Best Cry of Your Life" | Bannon: vocals, guitar, bass, electronics Maggio: drums | 4:26 |
| 6. | "Breaking Point" | Bannon: vocals, guitar, bass, piano, electronics Maggio: drums Sean Martin: guitar McKenzie: lead guitar | 7:52 |
| 7. | "Shine" | Bannon: vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, electronics McKenzie: lead guitar | 6:03 |
| 8. | "Fog" | Bannon: vocals, guitar, bass, piano, electronics Maggio: drums | 7:31 |
| 9. | "Heavy Blood" | Ballou: bass Bannon: vocals, guitar, drums, piano, electronics | 6:26 |
| 10. | "Goodbye Old Friend" | Ballou: guitar, organ, percussion Bannon: vocals, guitar, piano, electronics | 9:17 |
Personnel edit
WYW personnel adapted from LP liner notes.[5]
Music edit
- Kurt Ballou – guitar (tracks 1, 10), bass (track 9), organ (track 10) and percussion (track 10)
- Jacob Bannon – vocals (tracks 1-3, 5-10), guitar (tracks 1-3, 5-10), bass (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8), piano (tracks 1-3, 6-10), percussion (tracks 2, 7), electronics (1-3, 5-10), drums (track 9)
- Chris Maggio – drums (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8)
- Sean Martin – guitar (track 6)
- Mike McKenzie – lead guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7)
Production edit
- Kurt Ballou – additional recording at God City Studios
- Jacob Bannon – recording, mixing
- Brad Boatright – mastering at Audio Siege
- Robert Cheeseman – drum editing at God City Studios
- Tom Curtis – additional drum recording at Dead Bird Studios
Artwork edit
- Jacob Bannon – design
- Florian Gerbaud – photography
- Yildirim Bayazit Yaylak – logo
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ a b Bennett, J. (June 2017). "Q&A with Jake Bannon". Decibel (152). Philadelphia: Red Flag Media Inc.: 40–42. ISSN 1557-2137.
- ^ Gramlich, Chris (January 1, 2016). "Converge Have Innovation Through Suffering". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^ Harrington, Christopher J. (2017). "Interview: Wear Your Wounds". New Noise Magazine (31). Berkeley: 40–41.
- ^ "Reviews and Tracks for WYW by Wear Your Wounds". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c WYW (LP sleeve). Deathwish Inc. 2017. DW084.