beyond old names, everyone's songs.

what is your name? is another alias of an artist I discovered last year, known as 2 0 2 1. Evidently they make breakcore by day but at night craft dream pop and midwest emo jams that would make Longinus Recordings blush.

‘beyond old names, everyone’s songs.’ is a tough nut to crack. After all, it’s hard to process everything this album throws at you, never mind begin to dissect it. Tossing dream pop, midwest emo, folktronica and chamber pop in an indie rock blender, the resulting smoothie is rich and textured. While I could liken wiyn? to artists such as Asian Glow, I don’t think comparisons do the musician any justice.

The best way to describe the style and sound here would be not with words but with a demonstration. I could go on-and-on for what seems like hours about how the wall of sound ‘beyond old names…’ chucks at the listener is mastered to pseudo lo-fi perfection, or how the collages don’t lose their midwestern, emotional soul in the avalanche of experimental indie rock. I won’t bore with those details, though. The best way to understand why this is so good is to listen yourself.

What I can do to convince you to check out this album is praise its less abstract achievements. what is your name?’s latest release never falters from its attention-grabbing energy; is constantly trying something new without straying too far from its instrumental themes; and it’s simply fascinating to experience from front-to-back. Everyone will likely get something out of this, for better or worse—though hopefully, and I dare say assumably, for the better. There won’t likely be anything else released anytime soon that sounds remotely similar to the “falls.” and “violins.” that what is your name? gifts us with here.

‘beyond old names, everyone’s songs.’ is the first truly, undeniably great LP to grace this trip around the sun called 2023. Why waste your time reading about it any further when you can go give it a spin? If you miss this, you’re missing out on some amazing, awe-inspiring stuff.