The new self-titled album from Wendy Eisenberg shows off the singer-songwriter side of the musical polymath, whose work goes in harder, more out-there directions with bands like Editrix and Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet. "Meaning Business" and "I Don't Miss You" have portended good things for the record, and "Vanity Paradox" makes it sound like a must-hear.
I'm impressed by the melodies Eisenberg wrote here and the creative whimsy with which they're performed. Plus, they keep things interesting by threading some piercing violin into the indie guitar textures. "At the end of my life/ I’d like the chance to hear/ Their good words/ To be sure/ What I did was enough," Eisenberg begins. It stays captivating from there.
Some context from Eisenberg:
These lyrics came out in one wild, puzzling chunk I'm still deciphering. Mari [Rubio] told me it sounds like how anxiety feels, which shocked me — but is ultimately just true. From what I can tell, it's about the ways we cope with existing among others, and how it feels to want to be perceived as a good person by your friends, because your curiosity about yourself has, paradoxically, obscured you to yourself. It's also about healing from trauma — specifically how the healing process brings you so close to yourself that you can't see anything clearly, and you are so dazzled by the life surrounding you that you are stunned when you remember that you are the same person who experienced the trauma that got you here.
Ruby Mars directed the "Vanity Paradox" video and shared this statement about it:
We filmed this video around and within a legendary Atlantic City landmark known as Lucy the Elephant, a 65-foot tall elephant-shaped beachfront house. Valorous Lucy, who has stood longer than the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, has weathered several hurricanes and natural disasters, and looms behind Wendy with an almost threatening peculiarity.
Watch below.
Wendy Eisenberg is out 4/3 via Joyful Noise.
