When a longtime sideman releases an album of their own, it often means they wanted to do something they couldn't do while working with others. In the case of
Andy Stack, that would appear to include baring his soul.
Stack was a co-founder of
Wye Oak and has recorded and toured with
Lambchop and
EL VY, but after the end of a relationship coincided with him having free time from other projects, he had some ideas he wanted to get off his chest, and that was the beginning of his project
Joyero. With the exception of some backing vocals on one track, everything on the debut album from
Joyero, 2019's
Release the Dogs, is
Stack's handiwork, and the music is cool electronic pop whose clean surfaces don't prevent the music from betraying a sense of sadness, anxiety, and menace.
Release the Dogs only reveals so much about what was troubling
Andy Stack, but if the lyrics are sometimes oblique, the music is eloquent enough, particularly the lovely but troubled dreamscapes of "Starts," the moody indie folk of "Small Town Death," the clattering pulse of "Steepest Stairs," and the gradual slide into chaos of "Salt Mine." As both a performer and producer,
Stack knows how to pull a lot of emotions and ideas from his collection of synth patches and loops, and though he's generally an impressionist as a lyricist, the determined murmur of his voice meshes well with the accompaniment, giving a touch of emotional warmth to music that is often purposefully chilly.
Release the Dogs feels just specific enough in its pains that it may be a project designed with just this purpose in mind, but it demonstrates that
Andy Stack doesn't need creative partners to make music worth hearing, and hopefully happier circumstances will inspire
Joyero to return. ~ Mark Deming