Why?

Strange wordplay has long been a requisite for bands that want to get the attention of eccentric Bay Area label Anticon. Hell, even the label name has two variations (Anti-con or Ant-Icon, whichever way you see it). So it’s fitting that Why? calls Anticon home, despite the fact that it’s the only “rock band” on a predominantly left-field hip-hop label. Following up the highly praised Sanddollars EP, the just-released Elephant Eyelashes is a touching pop record that channels its lyricism through a hopeless-romantic folk singer who can flow tricky verses and punchy phrases like a battle MC. The nasal voice of frontman Yoni Wolf (also a member of the Anticon group Clouddead) resembles that of They Might Be Giants singer John Linnell, and he uses this to his advantage. The result is a whimsical, poppy adventure that leads the listener past waterfalls and forest leaves, all on the heels of a man who sounds like he’s had a clothespin stuck on his nose since puberty.