Ow ∞

On Sylvan Esso’s new album, Ow ∞ (pronounced “Ow Infinity”), the duo turn years of making music with others into something tactile, immediate and fully their own. Written across four years in the woods in Chapel Hill, it’s the longest they’ve ever spent on a record.

Most of these tracks use Amelia Meath’s first vocal takes, giving the album its clarity and human core. Born from experimentation and collaboration, it’s a sinewy, punchy, explosive set that feels constantly in motion, balancing personal destruction with something strange, vivid and newly rebuilt.

A large part of the record came through improvisation at their North Carolina studio with Glenn Kotche, Matt Douglas, Jenn Wasner, Joe Westerlund, Jake Luppen, Daniel Aged and drummer TJ Maiani. It also marks the first time Sylvan Esso have fully controlled every part of what the project can be.