Taking stock of Wendy Eisenberg’s solo work alongside a range of collaborations they’ve taken part in, their output spans a broad spectrum—from jagged, skronk-inflected rock to intimate folk textures, and from conventional pop structures to abstract experimentation. On the artist’s highly praised self-titled record released earlier this year, Eisenberg highlighted the singer-songwriter facet of their craft. Yet there are numerous pathways to interpreting those same songs.
Today the artist unexpectedly issued Wweennddyy Eeiisseennbbeerrgg, a companion collection made up of extended takes on two Wendy Eisenberg tracks. Working with bassist Trevor Dunn, violinist Mari Rubio (more eaze), and drummer Ryan Sawyer, Eisenberg crafted a 37-minute rendition of the lead single “Meaning Business” and a nine-minute version of the closing piece “The Walls.” The tracks have been retitled to “Mmeeaanniinngg Bbuussiinneess” and “Tthhee Wwaallllss.” The resulting 46-minute set exceeds the length of the original LP, and it underscores just how adventurous and versatile this artist can be.
I want to write songs that feel infinite. I want to write songs that go beyond their production, that can endure shifts in context. It’s probably a carryover from my jazz training—the desire to hear my material in different contexts. A standard sounds different when carried through time and hands. This band, Ryan Mari and Trevor, can do anything—between them their practices cover jazz, metal, country, ambient music, minimalism, and hyperpop, at least. So why not literally stretch them, and my songs, outward? I want to sense when a slowed-down piece becomes ambient music, becomes jazz, becomes something else. Experimental music; an experiment. Hopefully not chopped, but certainly a little screwed.
Subjecting these two songs, songs that are explicitly about memory, to a compositional process that emphasizes length, lets me perceive the time in each piece in a new way. In these versions, the form remains intact but sections blur, become solos, become entire worlds. Returning to the chorus after fifteen minutes feels different than after a minute and a half. Perhaps it’s a Cagean imposition, keeping a pop song engaging for two decades. I can justify it indefinitely. I simply want the band to keep playing.
Speaking of Eisenberg/Rubio projects, their group Whait announced its debut album this week. Stream Wweennddyy Eeiisseennbbeerrgg below.
TOUR DATES:
10/29 – Turin, IT @ C2C Festival
10/30 – Berlin, DE @ Berlin Jazz Fest
10/31 – Paris, FR @ Le Dynamo
11/02 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana
11/03 – Manchester, UK @ Kamera
11/04 – Glasgow, UK @ Glad Cafe
11/05 – Cambridge, UK @ NCI Center
11/06 – Norwich, UK @ The Holloway
11/07 – Leeds, UK @ The Attic
11/08 – London, UK @ Cafe OTO
11/09 – London, UK @ Cafe OTO
11/10 – Dublin, IE @ Grand Social
01/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Sanctuary*
01/17 – Somerville, MA @ The Rockwell*
01/18 – Montreal, QC @ Casa del Popolo*
01/19 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern*
01/21 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas*
01/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry*
01/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club*
01/25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warhol Theater*
01/26 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery*
01/27 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom*
02/19 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern*
02/20 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret*
02/21 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall*
02/23 – San Francisco, CA @ 4 Star Theater*
02/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon*
* with @
Wweennddyy Eeiisseennbbeerrgg is out now on Joyful Noise.
