One Track Mind

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With one solo record under his belt and a new one, The Voidist, slated for release on October 13th, Imaad Wasif already has a nicely fleshed out resumé. He’s recorded with Lou Barlow’s Folk Implosion and played guitar with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, both on tour and on their latest album. Wasif has shared bills with the likes of Neko Case, Love, Sebadoh, and The Raconteurs, and recently collaborated with Karen O and members of Deerhunter and Dead Weather for the soundtrack to the soon to be released Spike Jonze adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. What can you say–the guy likes to keep busy.

“Priestess” has something of the mid ’90s about it–a relatively straightforward, guitar powered track characterized by Wasif’s gentle vocal style. His words are soft, warm shafts of light sneaking through the curtains, vaporous and fleeting. True to his primary instrument, Wasif’s guitars frequently rise to the foreground but never resort to the tackiness of solos or excessive noodling. If there is a comparison here, it is likely to Radiohead’s transitional sound as they moved away from the more conventionally rooted compositions of The Bends toward the more digressive perambulations of OK Computer. Wasif’s delivery helps the parallel, as well, since he is prone to the alto melodics Yorke has worn so well.