Self-ish
| Self-ish | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 23, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2015–2016 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:28 | |||
| Label | Say-10 Records | |||
| Producer | Kevin Antreassian | |||
| Will Wood and the Tapeworms chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Self-ish | ||||
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Self-ish (stylized as 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 and Hostile City Distribution[5]. 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.
Background
[edit]Prior to release, Will Wood described Self-ish to be "about identity, ego and lack thereof".[6] 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 The 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.[7]
Tracks three and four are named after mental illnesses, being Cotard's delusion (also known as Cotard's syndrome) and Capgras delusion respectively. The name of track eight relates to a former persona of Wood's, William Sunshine, used during his time in the band A Verbal Equinox.
Release
[edit]
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.[8] "Dr. Sunshine Is Dead" released on July 28 as the second single,[9] 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.[10]
Self-ish was released as Will Wood and the Tapeworms' second album on August 23, 2016.[9][11] 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.[12] This was followed two 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 in reference to Stranger Things, wears body paint, and digs a hole in the ground in a thunderstorm.[13] On December 25, 2020, Self-ish was remastered and re-released by independent record label Say-10. In 2025, the original mixes of the album were distributed physically by Hostile City Distribution.
Songs and reception
[edit]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,[14] 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",[10] while Bob Makin of My Central Jersey referred to it as a "jazzy acid trip".[14] 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.[14] "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.[8] It was later included in "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2024 summer playlist.[15] "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.[14]
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,[16] while Makin called it an "insane funeral march", overall describing the album as "a circus from hell".[14] "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.[9] Shrum related it to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and detailed it as a mix of My Chemical Romance and the Mars Volta,[17] while Shawn Macomber of Fangoria described the track as a "gleefully deranged sonic ambience", comparing it to Gogol Bordello, Mr. Bungle, and Tom Waits.[18]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Will Wood.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Self-" (Sometimes stylized as "Self" or "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" (On the remaster, the track clocks in at 4:46, due to a shortened fadeout.) | 5:24 |
| 8. | "-Ish" (Sometimes stylized as "-ish" or "-iSH.") | 2:15 |
| Total length: | 33:28 | |
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[1]
- Musicians
- Will Wood – lead vocals, piano, kazoo
- Mike Bottiglieri – guitar, theremin, power drill
- David Higdon – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
- Matt Olsson – drums, percussion
- Jonathon Maisto – bass guitar
- Alex Nauth – backing vocals (5), trumpet (7)
- Mario Conte – drums (demos)
- Technical
- Kevin Antreassian – production, recording engineer, mixing, mastering
- Jonathon Maisto – additional engineering
- David Higdon – demo engineer
- Gabriel Francis – demo engineer
- Will Wood – album art graphic design
- Jesse Lazarus – album art photography
- Adam Nawrot – logo design
- Polo Itona – inner sleeve photography
- Additional vocalists
- Reese Van Riper – backing vocals
- Dylan Jacobus – backing vocals
- Chris McRae – backing vocals
- Cheska Colombo – backing vocals
- Lizzie Rowe – gang vocals
- Kellyanne Zeleny – gang vocals
- Timothy Simpson – gang vocals
- Mike Vablon – gang vocals
- Robby Stern – gang vocals
- Bobby Sanner – gang vocals
- Rebecca Paddon – gang vocals
- Bianca Teresi – gang vocals
References
[edit]- 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) - 1 2 3 Makin, Bob (October 16, 2016). "Makin Waves with Will Wood & the Tapeworms". My Central Jersey. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Howells, Rich (March 12, 2018). "YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO: New Jersey avant-pop rock band Will Wood and the Tapeworms". Nepa Scene. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Olivier, Bobby (October 13, 2016). "25 N.J. bands that you need to hear right now". NJ.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Will Wood & The Tapeworms | SELF-iSH (Original 2016 Mix)". Hostile City Distribution. August 29, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
- ↑ Olivier, Bobby (July 1, 2016). "Inside the tortured soul and chaotic sound of Will Wood and the Tapeworms". NJ.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Hsu, Caitlin (April 29, 2022). "Will Wood wants to be authentic, whatever it takes". Washington Square News. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- 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.
- 1 2 3 Juvinall, Michael (July 28, 2016). "Exclusive: Will Wood & The Tapeworms Premiere Bombastic Single "Dr. Sunshine is Dead!"". Horror Society. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- 1 2 Shrum, Tony (August 9, 2016). "Will Wood & The Tapeworms Release "2012" Music Video". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Olivier, Bobby (January 13, 2017). "35 N.J. bands you need to hear in 2017". NJ.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ New Noise (May 26, 2017). "Video Premiere: Will Wood & the Tapeworms – "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!"". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Nelson, Joshua (July 19, 2022). "Will Wood's "White Noise" Resonates Harmonious – A Review". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Makin, Bob (August 28, 2016). "Makin Waves with Chevonne and The Fuzz". My Central Jersey. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Sandstrom, Emily (July 18, 2024). ""Weird Al" Shares His Zany Summer Playlist. And His Social Security Number". Interview. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Miranda, Dianne (May 1, 2024). "Gauntlet Mixtape Vol. 24: Brain Rot". Gauntlet. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ Shrum, Tony (July 29, 2016). "Will Wood & The Tapeworms Stream New Single "Dr. Sunshine is Dead!"". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ↑ 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.