Music

Look How Far They've Come

Undlin & Wolfe find depth and harmony on full length

Ed Hudgins |

A WOLF IN PLAID CLOTHING. Siri Undlin and Dexter Wolfe of Minneapolis-based folk duo Undlin & Wolfe have released their first full length album, How Far.
A WOLF IN PLAID CLOTHING. Siri Undlin and Dexter Wolfe of Minneapolis-based folk duo Undlin & Wolfe have released their first full length album, How Far.

Some time ago, Undlin & Wolfe played at a local venue here in Eau Claire. I wasn’t able to attend the show, but a friend of mine did, and he called their sound and performance “sweet.”

I think he was getting at the gentle feel and beautiful harmonies in their music that night. And I get where he was coming from with that comment; I heard much of that kind of “sweetness” on their debut 2014 EP, Silver Lines. Nothing wrong with being sweet, but their new full-length album, How Far, shows that there’s certainly more to this package than sugar. There’s rich substance, lyrical and musical depth, and an invitation into a gentle, provocative – and, yes, “sweet” – journey.

That’s not an easy combination to pull off. It can be difficult to be both as emotionally provocative and as gentle and unassuming as How Far is, but this duo was able to make it happen. It is a beautiful record from front to back, with each song playing its own part in the journey. There are some playful moments, sad moments, joyous moments, even subtly angry moments ... and yet, through all those shapes and colors, the thread of the gentle journey meanders. Such expressions could conflict with each other, but on How Far, Undlin & Wolfe are able to bring them into gorgeous harmony.

This continuity between various feelings and the consistent emotional and musical harmony is an outgrowth of their songwriting process, said Siri Undlin, one half of the songwriting duo.

“A lot of these songs revolve around the idea of between-ness, or thresholds,” Undlin told me. “Of course that’s extremely broad, but as far as my creative process goes, I usually pick up a guitar when I’m overwhelmed or asking deep questions about my surroundings. Those moments tend to happen on the edges, or at least, outside of your comfort zone. I think the songs reflect that.”

How the record was made is another piece of the How Far puzzle that speaks to this dynamic of divergent elements coming together to create something beautiful and harmonious. Dexter Wolfe, the duo’s other half, said the album was recorded in tons of different places, including Eau Claire basements and his grandmother’s condo.

“That sort of process comes with recording an album on your own,” Wolfe said. “It’s fun recording the performances in lived-in spaces. You can feel the spirit of old Eau Claire homes in the grooves of the album, you can hear the cracks of wooden floors.”

Both artists were raised in Minneapolis, but they consider Eau Claire a sort of hometown as well. According to Undlin, “We love Eau Claire – the landscape and the people. It’s such an important place and none of these songs would be what they are without this community of engaged, thoughtful people.” Wolfe added, “Yeah, I’m super thankful to call Eau Claire one of my homes. The EC community is so special. People are always so down to create. That sort of energy is vital to making anything.”

There is a lot to like about How Far, and Undlin & Wolfe are pretty enthusiastic about the album themselves: “We’re both really excited about finally having it out there.” Undlin said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a year, but these songs have been at the center of it all and it feels great to finally be able to share it.”

That hard work and the process of bringing all of these elements together have produced a great record. Yes, it’s sweet, but it’s more than that. It is a warm, inviting, emotionally dense story.

To listen to or purchase How Far, head to undlinandwolfe.bandcamp.com. Undlin & Wolfe will kick off V1’s seasonal Jingle Jams series in the V1 Gallery on Nov. 27.