by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Forget the (over-produced) hardcore to (over-produced) shoegaze pipeline, we’re here for the psych pop to alt-country pipeline, a natural progression that often seems to yield dazzling results. Case in point, Ryan Wong’s upcoming solo album, The New Country Sounds of Ryan Wong. The title really says it all, but we’re happy to fill in any details. Best known as a core member of Cool Ghouls and Supreme Joy, Wong has carved a niche in the world of garage psych, flipping between twang and fuzz, his songs always memorable. With his second solo effort, due out May 12th via Rocks In Your Head Records (Sonny & The Sunsets, Fake Fruit), he’s embraced that twang and filtered out most everything else, opting for a record of earnest DIY country tunes. The album rules and each song seems to pay homage to another aspect of country’s golden days, long before the genre was all about ‘merica and pick-up trucks.
Having recently shared the bustling “Shadow” and “Lead Paint,” a classic crooned country ballad, Wong returns with the simplistic joys of “Yo Yo,” a beautifully composed acoustic song. With an easy premise (“I want to live like a yo-yo”) and a sparse arrangement, the song uses quick tumbles of mountainous drums, lap steel, and ever appropriately vocals-in-rounds to add gorgeous dynamics, coloring the picture with a vivid sense of yearning good ol’ boy country magic. The video makes good on the song’s singular charms, with a stark yellow backdrop, a performance from Wong, and the yo-yo work of none other than… Dudley. This is the good stuff.