Andy Stack is one half of Wye Oak. He was also the touring drummer for EL VY and has performed on recordings by Madeline Kenney, Helado Negro, and Shearwater in addition to dabbling in composing for film. His musical ubiquity doesn’t stop there, as Stack is now releasing solo music under the name Joyero.

Today he is announcing his solo album, Release The Dogs, from which we’ve already heard one song called “Salt Mine.” Along with the announcement he’s sharing the quasi-title track “Dogs” along with a self-directed video.

The beat-driven “Dogs” has a circular synth spinning on the top line. That plus Stack’s quiet, passive vocals combine to send a sense of anxiety coursing through the song. That tension finds release as a full-bodied guitar riff lingers on certain notes and a more shrill sound takes over. The video shows Stack in a small box with a bunch of different dogs. Also in the box throughout the video are cats, chickens, tarantulas and snakes.

Here’s Stack with more about the song and video:

I filmed this in the back of Wye Oak’s tour van in Durham, NC, as summer temperatures crept toward triple digits, so these dogs had no problem showing me their panting, slobbery tongues and beautiful white teeth. It’s a song about longing and control, love and danger, cages we are placed into and cages in which we choose to stay. I felt at home in this box, close cuddling with dogs and hens and tarantulas, delusional from the heat and happy to stay a little longer than was probably advisable.

Watch the video for “Dogs” below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Alight”
02 “Dogs”
03 “Starts”
04 “Steepest Stairs”
05 “Salt Mine”
06 “Man”
07 “Small Town Death”
08 “After You”
09 “Time”

TOUR DATES:
07/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle^
07/27 – Carrboro, NC @ MRG30 [SOLD OUT]
08/08 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club*
08/09 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall*
08/10 – Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi*
09/07 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
09/25 – Copenhagen, DK @ Lille Vega%
09/26 – Berlin, DE @ Bi Nuu%
09/27 – Leipzig, DE @ UZ Connewitz%
09/28 – Hamburg, DE @ Elbphilharmonie%
09/30 – Brussels, DE @ Botanique%
10/02 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall%
10/03 – Bristol, UK @ St. George%
10/04 – London, UK @ Union Chapel%
10/05 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie%
10/06 – Nancy, FR @ l’Autre Canal%
10/08 – Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik%
10/09 – Fribourg, CH @ Fri-Son%
10/10 – Milan, IT @ Circolo Ohibò%
11/19 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight*
11/20 – Durham, NC @ Motorco*
11/21 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern*
11/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle*

^ w/ Will Butler
* w/ Fruit Bats
% w/ The Album Leaf

Release The Dogs is out 8/23 on Merge Records. Pre-order it here. 

CREDIT: Dan Stack