Pitstop: Flock of Dimes

When Sharon Van Etten went on tour in support of her brilliant new record Tramp, I saw her support was something by the name of Flock of Dimes. You'd think such an interesting name would be all I needed to look into the matter or the fact that he/she/it were playing a couple dates with my February obsession. Wrong. It was only after Caleb Moore of Lands & Peoples showed considerable excitement about seeing Flock of Dimes live that it clicked that this might be something good, something important. In fact, Caleb didn't do record store day but picked up a Flock of Dimes 7" and seemed more than content with that decision.

Flock of Dimes is actually the solo project of Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner. After debuting late last year with the track "Prison Bride" on Friends Records 2011 compilation, she's been steadily on her way toward releasing more. Like the aforementioned 7" which consists of "Prison Bride" and Wasner's take on The Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why".

It actually took the release of Wye Oak's one-off single "Spiral" for this summer's incarnation of the Adult Swim Singles Program for me to remember I had never given proper due to Wasner or Flock of Dimes. On NPR, Wasner compared the stylistic change of "Spiral" to the dark vibes of Flock of Dimes and well, they're pretty much dead-on there.

 Prison Bride by Flock of Dimes

There might not be a lot of music out under Wasner's Flock of Dimes moniker yet but what is available is absolutely obsession-worthy. The aforementioned "Prison Bride" which builds atop a pretty slick beat before Wasner's vocals envelop you in a heady rush. Percussive claps and occasional vocals effects are used sparring and become all the more interesting for it. The track in intoxicatingly catchy.

But despite Wasner's foreshadowing in the NPR article, not all of Flock of Dimes output is menacing or foreboding. In "Glaze", which is reminiscent of a less guitar-centric Stricken City a la "I Know A Place", you get a sort of dreamy reverie that is in no way less attention-dominating than "Prison Bride". "Glaze" chugs along at a pace not unlike "Prison Bride" but where the latter was mostly beat-driven, the brighter track is less insistent in its forward movement.

 glaze by Flock of Dimes

 icy by Flock of Dimes

Here's hoping there's to come soon from Flock of Dimes. You can order the Poison Bride 7" from Friends Records here.