What the Wolf Is - Equinfox

What the Wolf Is

Equinfox
self-released; 2015

3.5 out of 5

By Megan Gazzo

Equinfox by What the Wolf Is commences with the song "Fox Head." The song is ambient yet hard rock. It has that steady bass line and semi-smashing drums that gives it just enough flair to be considered almost heavy. It is uplifted by ambient electric guitar and an evenness in which the whole album remains on one dimension. The next song "Time Wolf "gets a little harder and brings in the vocals. The singer’s voice is powerful but subtle and the guitar tends to get more metal filled here lending the listeners ear to some more solos. 

I really enjoy it when they bring the horn into this song. Something about brass that just takes any song and sends it up to the sky. I appreciate the lyrics in the next song on the album “Jungle Beat." It speaks of the demons in his head and that he is barely sane, and he puts his face on either way. It really is always refreshing when people admit how barely sane they are - because it is just so true! None of us are completely sane and it is nice to announce it to the world. The vocals are a bit muffled and distant in this album. Although the voice is not pulled forward very much it is still effective. 

You get a little more of the punk like sound in this song as the singer starts to do the inevitable scream/shout. The album is punk, it’s ambient, it’s rock, it’s metal. You cannot pinpoint it. The lyrics are rebellious and anarchistic. The singer’s voice is quite whiney giving it an emotional sentiment. I could see some soft moshing going on at a concert of this music. All of the band members are quite talented. The “Sloth Genie" asks, “Well can you see? Can you see clearly now? Where is the line?”  Often in the songs in this album they speak of the line. I wonder what this line is that they talk about. Perhaps it is that one between sanity and insanity. They seem to play with it by bringing contrived musical elements and then letting them expand into an ambient rock vast expanse.

Moving on, the song "Mister Future" is emotionally visual.  "I’m spent, I’m through, I can’t depend on you. You’re never there when I need you and I can’t seem to please you, and I refuse to wait around." No wonder the album has rage behind it. They feel duped because someone didn't come through that was supposed to. I like this song because the horn comes back into play. It is funny because they so rarely have the brass play a part in their songs, but each time when it does it sounds so amazing you don't want it to ever end! 

The album ends with the song "The Chud." I really have no clue what a chud is, but I am open to knowing! The lyrics, "Living these colors with no idea, with darkness bounding on my heels" seem to explain the essence of this piece. There is ambience and the main vocalist actually has quite a dreamy voice when he sings, but he also knows how to bring that dark punk feel. It is colorful and dark. Each time the horns come in I see streams of rainbows pouring out into a dark room. 

I appreciate this album overall and think that it covets a sound that is unique and dynamic. There is so much at play here instrumentally. The electric guitar and super condensed drumming bring a hard-edged punk feel that is angst-y and emotionally charged. When the horns come in, it brightens the whole thing. The singer’s voice is soft and digestible. Sometimes when you hear punk albums the voice of the singer tends to be only fit for screaming. This guy has a lot going on and knows way more than just how to huff and puff on a microphone. I like the songs and could see myself soft moshing at their show. Not quite moshing hard enough to acquire bruises, but enough to have energetic exchanges with the other emotional punks at the show and rubbing some shoulders here and again. I like it and I highly suggest it especially if you are into anarchy and giving a big FU to the system and the heartbreakers of the world. 

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