Jenn Wasner

Last updated

Jenn Wasner
Jenn Wasner portrait.jpg
Background information
Also known asFlock of Dimes
Born
Jennifer Lynn Wasner

(1986-04-16) April 16, 1986 (age 39)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • keyboard
Years active2003–present
Labels
Member of

Jennifer Lynn Wasner (born April 16, 1986) [1] is an American musician from Baltimore. Wasner is best known as one of the founding members of the band Wye Oak, along with Andy Stack. [2] Wasner has completed numerous other music projects as well, including a solo project entitled Flock of Dimes, and a collaboration called Dungeonesse with Jon Ehrens of White Life and Art Department.

Contents

Early life

Wasner was born on April 16, 1986, in Baltimore. [3] She began singing at an early age with her mother and started taking classical piano lessons at about the age of five. [4] At the age of twelve her mother taught her how to play guitar, which led to the beginning of her songwriting career. [4] Throughout her childhood, her parents struggled with mental illness, addiction, and financial troubles. [5] By high school, Wasner had met Andy Stack, and begun playing music with him. She continued to write music while away at college. [6]

Music career

Wasner performing in Wye Oak. Wye Oak 2014.jpg
Wasner performing in Wye Oak.

After college Wasner moved to the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore. [7] She and Stack formed a band with the name "Monarch", which was soon changed to Wye Oak after the state tree of Maryland. [2] After the release of their highly regarded album Civilian in 2011, the group toured in the United States and Europe. Civilian was named the best album of 2011 by The A.V. Club and was featured on television in the popular series The Walking Dead and in the film Safety Not Guaranteed . She also appeared on Titus Andronicus's 2010 album The Monitor, lending her vocals to the track "To Old Friends and New".

After touring with Dirty Projectors, Wasner began work on her solo project Flock of Dimes, which experimented with electronic beats and synthesizers. She worked with Jon Ehrens of the Baltimore-pop group White Life on a new project, Dungeonesse, which released its eponymous album in 2016. [8] Wasner moved from Baltimore to Durham, North Carolina and continues to reside there. [9]

Stack and Wasner reunited to create the fifth major album Shriek , released in April 2014. The band released its sixth studio album, The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs , in 2018, and a compilation of singles, Every Day Like the Last, in 2023. [10]

Wasner has released three albums, If You See Me, Say Yes in 2016, Head of Roses in 2021, and The Life You Save in 2025, under her solo project Flock of Dimes. [11] [12] North Carolina–based guitar maker Reverend released a Jenn Wasner signature guitar in 2016 to accompany the first Flock of Dimes album. [13] Wasner has supported Sylvan Esso on tour as Flock of Dimes. [14] In 2016, Wasner was featured in a concert series taking place at the Baltimore–Washington International Airport, where she performed at the baggage claim area of the terminal. [15]

In 2019, Wasner joined Bon Iver as a guitarist. [16] The tour was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but eventually resumed. She continues to perform with the band [17] and is featured in track "Day One" on its 2025 album SABLE, fABLE .

Wasner produced Madeline Kenney's 2023 sophomore album A New Reality Mind. [18]

Discography

Flock of Dimes discography
Studio albums3
EPs1
Compilation albums1
Singles16
Wasner performing as Flock of Dimes at BWI Airport in February 2016 Flock of Dimes.jpg
Wasner performing as Flock of Dimes at BWI Airport in February 2016

As Flock of Dimes

Studio albums

Extended plays

  • Like So Much Desire (2020, Sub Pop)

Compilation albums

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US
AAA

[19]
"Curtain" b/w "Apparition"2012Non-album singles
"Prison Bride"
"(This Is Why) I Can't Wear White" / "15"
"Semaphore"2016If You See Me, Say Yes
"Everything Is Happening Today"
"Don't Dream It's Over" / "Everything Is Free"
(featuring Sylvan Esso)
Non-album single
"Two"202139Head of Roses
"Price of Blue"
"Hard Way"
"One More Hour"
"Through Me"Head of Roses: Phantom Limb
"It Just Goes On"2022
"Go with Good"
"Long After Midnight"2025The Life You Save
"Afraid"
"Defeat"
"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

With Wye Oak

With Dungeonesse

References

  1. Lee Gardner (April 13, 2011). "Mighty". Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Brandon Weigel (April 23, 2014). "Springtime For Wye Oak". Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  3. "Wye Oak Interview (w/ Andy Stack, Jenn Wasner)". Auralstates.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Meet Jenn Wasner - Founding Member of Wye Oak". Laist.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  5. Snapes, Laura (April 6, 2021). "Flock of Dimes' Jenn Wasner: 'I became incredibly adept at outrunning myself'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  6. "Jenn Wasner, Wye Oak". March 25, 2011. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  7. "ORANJE PREVIEW : Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak". Myoldkentuckyblog.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  8. "Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner Announces Debut Dungeonesse Album, Shares New Track". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  9. Zoladz, Lindsay (March 30, 2021). "How Flock of Dimes Found Herself (With a Little Help From Her Friends)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  10. Robles, Jonathan (June 23, 2023). "Wye Oak's new project 'Every Day Like the Last' is something special". Variance Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  11. "Flock of Dimes: If You See Me, Say Yes". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  12. "Flock of Dimes: Head of Roses". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  13. Vaughn, Ashley (July 6, 2016). "Reverend Guitars Tell Us About the Making of the Jenn Wasner Signature Guitar". She Shreds Media. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  14. Sweeney, Alisha. "Jenn Wasner's New EP Finds Peace Amidst Personal Hardships". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  15. "Jenn Wasner, other Baltimore musicians to perform at BWI Airport". Baltimore Sun . Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  16. "Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner: "If something kind of scares us and feels a little bit out of our comfort zone, we want to do it more."". Stereogum. July 15, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  17. "Being in Bon Iver feels 'like winning the lottery'". Double J. March 8, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  18. "Jenn Wasner and Madeline Kenney on the Challenges of Staying Inspired". Talkhouse. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  19. "Flock of Dimes Triple A Airplay Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved May 24, 2021.