Why? has bubbled incredibly beneath the surface for far too long. They now have 3 LPs and 2 EPs without ever garnering major attention even amongst the indie crowd. With almost no “mainstream” recognition “Elephant Eyelash” was one of the best albums of 2005 that no one heard. Perhaps this was due to the tepid 7.8 from “Pitchfork Media” for the wonderfully energetic, breakthrough LP or the refusal by front man Yoni Wolf (Why? himself) to conform to normal indie musicality. My guess is that despite the fact that Chris Dahlen at Pitchfork seems more concerned with understanding Why? (”…I finally understand how he feels.”) what really throws people is the genre bending, musical avalanche unleashed on Elephant Eyelash and, more importantly, this year’s “Alopecia.” Why? is tracing out a wonderful arc with every album rising higher than the last and Alopecia makes the trend solid. The quartet of Yoni Wolf (the original holder of the moniker “Why?”), his brother Josiah, Matt Meldon, and Doug McDiarmid are ready for some attention, which they seem to be getting. Or at least the indie critic establishment is taking them seriously or at least writing more seriously about them as can be seen here and better yet here.

I won’t belabor points that have already been made. Why? does not conform to genre, or at least we haven’t come up with a good genre for acts with keyboards AND guitar AND an electronic sound. I get the impression that this fact causes a lot of lazy reviewers to miss their sound entirely because they can’t slap a genre on them and call it quits. The Tiny Mix Tapes review above by Jeffrey Canino is the best I have read at hitting on Why?’s sound. It is true that it is something very hard to pin down in one genre, but that is not what makes it interesting. The best part of Why?’s sound is the stolid demand to meddle in a little of everything. The most common category for Why? is hip-hop, but that encompasses the minority of sound on Alopecia. The Fall of Mr. Fifths is the closest to a true hip-hop track even “white guy” hip-hop. Just because Yoni puts his lyrics to a distinct cadence and rhythm rather than a more “white guy” sound (although there is plenty of that as well) does not hip-hop make. It is not so much that Why? defies genre but more that their sound is an organic amalgamation of influences. After the rhythmic spitting of Mr. Fifths you find tracks like the opener, The Vowels Pt. 2, which is a glorious condensation of what makes Why? so unbelivable wonderful.

The Vowels Pt. 2 is a showcase of the intensely personal and nearly incomprehensible but wonderfully melodic vocals that strike right at the heart of the listener. The Vowels takes a touch of the dark, serious edge of the lyrics with the wonderfully cathartic refrain (cheeri-a, cheeri-e, cheeri-i, cheeri-o, cheeri-u…). Following that opener with Good Friday you get a taste of the almost spoken word nature of Why?. The lyrics are a total baring of a lifetime of quirks and psychosis which flows out like a hideously interesting torrent of intimacy which is hardly expected until you are at least half way through the song. The third track, These Few Presidents, shows the recurring themes of life and death that Why? is incomprehensibly able to throw around in the way people talk about the weather or sports. There is a beauty in the turns of phrase that seem to cram into every song without becoming trite or overwrought. “You are a beautiful and violent word…”

The album overall rises above Elephant Eyelash primarily in that it is more comfortable in its own shoes. The songs flow better even though they are little different from their predecessors in content or sound. There is a certain ineffable quality in them that is clear to almost any listener. The tone of Alopecia is most often described as more serious and dark than Eyelash but that smacks of a lack of listening to Eyelash rather than an actual analysis of Alopecia. It is not a matter of (as Chris Dahlen seems to think) understanding Why? or frontman Yoni Wolf, but simply an experience to be enjoyed. You might get a glimpse of the internal monologue of Wolf but it is not understanding that comes forth from every song. It is a strange journey in unknown territory. Why? remains unknown but not without incredible beauty and more than one catchy hook.