I always try and sit and listen
Like an elder to children
On the breeze words slippin'
Stories, anthologies
It's what I need
Drifted from patterns of the current
Newsflashes, cable alerts
People on the outskirts
What's it like outside?
I guess it'll be fine
—Feel Like Jake (from ‘Picnic’)
It doesn't take very long to get lost in Jacob Smolinski’s new album ‘Picnic,’ a creatively adventurous LP being released Friday under the name of Smolinski’s alter ego, ‘Wylie Something.’
More than just a folk record, the songs on the nine-track album — for purchase HERE — exude a psychedelic vibe full of ethereal sounds which paint a vivid backdrop for the entrancing and sometimes peculiar tales about which Smolinski sings.
“It comes back to emotions and trying to capture a certain vibe,” he said. “As cheesy as it sounds, each song builds on itself. They're their own little worlds. Sometimes those feelings are complex, and the instrumentation aims to amplify tone switches and changes of pace. There are some ambient moments on this album and after saying/singing a lot, sometimes you have to say less and give the listener a break.”
Actually, in listening to ‘Picnic,’ you can’t help but get the feeling that it’s the album itself that provides the listener a break — a much-needed break from life’s stresses and anxieties which Smolinski delivers through his colorful and illusory storytelling that’s fused perfectly into a musical landscape which, at times, evokes an almost trancelike quality.
Whether he’s finding beauty and humor in getting order No. 666 on a takeout bag from Sheetz during a road trip in the song "Stuck Inside of Memphis with the Springfield Blues Again," or openly questioning his own version of himself in the tune "Feel Like Jake," each song on the album conjures an indie movie in the listener’s mind.
“The subject matter on ‘Picnic’ focuses on my place in the universe, from the smallest connections to the clear wide open,” Smolinski said. “Those little details and abstract thoughts.”
In approaching the making of this latest Wylie Something album, Smolinski said he was influenced by bands like Brian Jonestown Massacre, Andy Shauf, and Loving!
“I haven't experimented with as many instruments before on a record,” he said. “Whether it's djembe hand drumming or programming virtual string sections, I think there's a lot there for folks to dive into. This album was created in a really pleasant vacuum. I dove into these songs over a two-month period and kept tinkering until I felt like they were done. I hope that it feels like a thought-out and consistent album.”
Smolinski said he’s especially proud of the mixing and engineering on the album which he did in his home’s DIY recording studio dubbed "The Sweat Lodge," working with collaborators including Kameron Plotner (of Krapbasket; Velvet Bethany), Cole Makuch (Blinker; solo), and Alex Behrens (Everythings; Wife and Kids).
“There's something about the balance of hi-fi and lo-fi on this album that really tickles my brain,” he said. “My main joy in life is recording and engineering sounds. This isn't a big studio album; it was just lovingly put together part-by-part and piece-by-piece with some really talented individuals. I hope that it inspires folks to find their sound through home recording, too. To me, that's such an important part of being in the DIY scene.”
100 miles to Memphis
Church of god or church of state
Mercury is in Gatorade
Hummin' to Smithsonian Folkways
Burning rubber on the interstate
Shocks of purple trees of green
666 on an order bag from Sheetz
It’s my birthday
Mouth full of nicotine
With you next to me
— Stuck Inside of Memphis… (from ‘Picnic’)
The album — which ends somewhat daringly with 30-minutes of ambient sound recorded in the environs of one of the city’s most popular landmarks — is titled ‘Picnic’ because that’s exactly the vibe Smolinski said he felt in making the record.
“With any picnic, friends come and go, the day turns to dusk; moods change. Sometimes you're left alone. That's when you really start to think or self-reflect,” he said. “After composing the final 30-minute ambient jam with field recordings from Hoyt Lake with Alex Behrens, I realized that track should be the namesake of the album. What's more ‘picnic’ than just laying on your back enjoying the sounds of Hoyt Lake, while your friends trade off on a guitar or keyboard?”
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