SELF-iSH

Last updated
SELF-iSH
Will Wood - Self-Ish.jpg
Studio album by
Will Wood and the Tapeworms
ReleasedAugust 23, 2016 (2016-08-23)
Recorded2015–2016
Studio
Genre
Length33:28
Label Say-10 Records
Producer Kevin Antreassian
Will Wood and the Tapeworms chronology
Everything Is a Lot
(2015)		SELF-iSH
(2016)		The Real
(2018)
Singles from SELF-iSH
  1. "Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity: Tulpamancer's Prosopagnosia / Pareidolia (As Direct Result of Trauma to Fusiform Gyrus)"
    Released: July 8, 2016
  2. "Dr. Sunshine Is Dead"
    Released: July 28, 2016
  3. "2012"
    Released: August 9, 2016

SELF-iSH is the second studio album by American indie rock band Will Wood and the Tapeworms. It was independently released on August 23, 2016, and later received distribution through Say-10 Records. Supported by three singles and four music videos, the album was written by Will Wood and produced by Kevin Antreassian. SELF-iSH received a positive reception for its chaotic energy and wide range of musical influence.

Contents

Background

Prior to release, Will Wood described SELF-iSH to be "about identity, ego and lack thereof". [5] He aimed for boldness and a lack of subtlety to strengthen his own honesty on the album. It was produced, mixed, and mastered by Kevin Antreassian of Dillinger Escape Plan. [2] During the creative process, Wood was unmedicated and new to therapy, which resulted in frenetic writing sessions and intense emotional experiences. [6]

Release

Will Wood Dressing Room Shoot-Will Wood Dressing Room Shoot-0030.jpg
Will Wood in 2017 with a painted third eye, referencing the cover artwork of SELF-iSH.

On July 8, 2016, "Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity: Tulpamancer's Prosopagnosia / Pareidolia (As Direct Result of Trauma to Fusiform Gyrus)" was released as the lead single of SELF-iSH. Alongside it was a music video co-directed by Will Wood and Adam Nawrot, featuring the band performing nude in a monochromatic room. [7] "Dr. Sunshine Is Dead" released on July 28 as the second single, [8] followed by "2012" as the third and final single on August 9. The latter had a music video published the same day, directed by Wood with Jesse Lazarus and Maddie Schwartz. It presents the band performing in an evidence room and a party, intermittenly cutting to Wood with body paint and various pieces of oversaturated or desaturated footage. [9]

SELF-iSH was released as Will Wood and the Tapeworms' second album on August 23, 2016. [8] [10] On May 26, 2017, a music video was released for "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!". Recorded in one shot and directed by Mark Jaworski, it features the band performing in a busy and cluttered room through a fisheye lens. [11] This was followed years later by a music video for "Dr. Sunshine Is Dead", released on September 30, 2019. It shows the Tapeworms performing on a psychedelic background while Wood shaves his head, eats waffles in a patient gown, wears body paint, and digs a hole in the ground in a thunderstorm. [12] On December 25, 2020, SELF-iSH was remastered and re-released by independent record label Say-10.

Songs and reception

SELF-iSH contains the title tracks "Self-" and "-Ish", piano ballads that open and close the eight-song album, respectively. They discuss Wood's amnesia caused by his recreational drug use. The track "2012" additionally elaborates on this, [13] a funk-oriented track with lyrics about spirituality and psychedelics. Its composition revolves around saxophone, piano, and kazoo, while the song's lyrics are sung at a fast pace. Tony Shrum of New Noise Magazine labeled it as "sarcastically-cheery drug-addled babbling", [9] while Bob Makin of My Central Jersey referred to it as a "jazzy acid trip". [13] In an interview with the latter, Wood stated that the year marked Quetzalcoatl's return and a tabula rasa of existential nihilism. [2]

"Cotard's Solution (Anatta, Dukkha, Anicca)" was described by Makin as a "zany, cirque de l’enfer revelry", likening it to Danny Elfman. [13] "Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity: Tulpamancer's Prosopagnosia / Pareidolia (As Direct Result of Trauma to Fusiform Gyrus)" is fourth on SELF-iSH, which uses a swing-punk melodic pattern. [7] It was later included in "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2024 summer playlist. [14] "The Song with Five Names a.K.a. Soapbox Tao a.K.a. Checkmate Atheists! a.K.a. Neospace Government (A.K.a. You Can Never Know)" follows as a "'50s-spirited, gospel-inspired" song, featuring Alex Nauth of Foxy Shazam. [13]

Dianne Miranda of Gauntlet included "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!" in a playlist of songs intended to put the listener in a state of numbness, [15] while Makin called it an "insane funeral march", overall describing the album as "a circus from hell". [13] "Dr. Sunshine Is Dead" is a progressive rock song with latin inspiration. It focuses on dramatic instrumentation with saxophone, guitar, and piano, additionally including trumpet by Alex Nauth. [8] Shrum related it to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and detailed it as a mix of My Chemical Romance and the Mars Volta, [16] while Shawn Macomber of Fangoria described the track as a "gleefully deranged sonic ambience", comparing it to Gogol Bordello, Mr. Bungle, and Tom Waits. [17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Will Wood.

No.TitleLength
1."Self-"2:35
2."2012"4:04
3."Cotard's Solution (Anatta, Dukkha, Anicca)"5:05
4."Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity: Tulpamancer's Prosopagnosia / Pareidolia (As Direct Result of Trauma to Fusiform Gyrus)"3:43
5."The Song with Five Names a.K.a. Soapbox Tao a.K.a. Checkmate Atheists! a.K.a. Neospace Government (A.K.a. You Can Never Know)"4:27
6."Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!"5:51
7."Dr. Sunshine Is Dead"5:24
8."-Ish"2:15
Total length:33:28

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [1]

Musicians
Technical
Additional vocalists

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References

  1. 1 2 SELF-iSH (Media notes). Will Wood and the Tapeworms. Say-10. 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Makin, Bob (October 16, 2016). "Makin Waves with Will Wood & the Tapeworms". My Central Jersey. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  3. ↑ Howells, Rich (March 12, 2018). "YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO: New Jersey avant-pop rock band Will Wood and the Tapeworms". Nepa Scene. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  4. ↑ Olivier, Bobby (October 13, 2016). "25 N.J. bands that you need to hear right now". NJ.com . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Olivier, Bobby (July 1, 2016). "Inside the tortured soul and chaotic sound of Will Wood and the Tapeworms". NJ.com . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  6. ↑ Hsu, Caitlin (April 29, 2022). "Will Wood wants to be authentic, whatever it takes". Washington Square News . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Shrum, Tony (July 8, 2016). "Will Wood & The Tapeworms Release "Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity" Video". New Noise Magazine . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Juvinall, Michael (July 28, 2016). "Exclusive: Will Wood & The Tapeworms Premiere Bombastic Single "Dr. Sunshine is Dead!"". Horror Society. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Shrum, Tony (August 9, 2016). "Will Wood & The Tapeworms Release "2012" Music Video". New Noise Magazine . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  10. ↑ Olivier, Bobby (January 13, 2017). "35 N.J. bands you need to hear in 2017". NJ.com . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  11. ↑ New Noise (May 26, 2017). "Video Premiere: Will Wood & the Tapeworms – "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!"". New Noise Magazine . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  12. ↑ Nelson, Joshua (July 19, 2022). "Will Wood's "White Noise" Resonates Harmonious – A Review". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Makin, Bob (August 28, 2016). "Makin Waves with Chevonne and The Fuzz". My Central Jersey. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  14. ↑ Sandstrom, Emily (July 18, 2024). ""Weird Al" Shares His Zany Summer Playlist. And His Social Security Number". Interview . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  15. ↑ Miranda, Dianne (May 1, 2024). "Gauntlet Mixtape Vol. 24: Brain Rot". Gauntlet . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  16. ↑ Shrum, Tony (July 29, 2016). "Will Wood & The Tapeworms Stream New Single "Dr. Sunshine is Dead!"". New Noise Magazine . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  17. ↑ Macomber, Shawn (July 8, 2016). "Exclusive Premiere: Will Wood & The Tapeworms' Wicked New Music Video!". Fangoria . Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2024.

Self-Ish (2020 Remastered Version) at Discogs

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