Wye Oak visited the tiny round room at the AV Club headquarters in Chicago twice to participate in their “Undercover” series. Each Undercover series starts with AV Club writers choosing 25 songs and inviting 25 bands they like to come to their offices in Chicago to perform.

We were not content to have these two great covers exist only on the AV Club website, and so on November 22, Merge will release “Strangers” b/w “Mother” as a limited-edition 7-inch and digital download!

In the spring of 2010, Wye Oak first visited the round room to cover The Kinks’ “Strangers.” They were joined by Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater, and the resulting performance was one of the finalists in the AV Club’s poll for “Best of the Series.” Jenn and Andy were invited back in the spring of 2011 and this time, they chose to go a darker route. Complete with a sleeveless black hoodie and a “Wolfs Blood” tattoo, Jenn offered a spooky take on former Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig’s vocal stylings in their cover of “Mother,” complete with Callers’ Don “Donzig” Godwin on tenor horn.

Jenn says, “We had a blast participating in the AV Club’s Undercover series and were pleasantly surprised that so many people enjoyed our take on these two songs. We’re happy to have these versions released for those who were interested in owning them for themselves. Thanks to Merge and the AV Club for making it all happen.”

The AV Club visited Jenn in Baltimore to visit her favorite local haunts and discuss “Holy Holy” from Civilian as part of their new “One Track Mind” series. Watch Jenn’s episode now at the AV Club.

Pre-order the limited-edition 7-inch “Strangers” b/w “Mother” now in the Merge store. Wye Oak’s whole catalog, including their latest album Civilian and the newly released vinyl reissue of The Knot, are also available in the Merge store.

Wye Oak recently announced new tour dates with Explosions in the Sky, and have now extended the tour to include dates with Yo La Tengo and The National. Also, NPR just announced their list of their 25 favorite albums of the year (so far) and included Wye Oak’s Civilian.

Of Civilian, NPR’s Jacob Ganz wrote:

“I know my thoughts, but I can hide them,” Jenn Wasner sings in the title track to Wye Oak‘s third and best album. Control, and the loss of it, seems to be an almost obsessive concern for the Baltimore duo, and on Civilian, Wasner and Andy Stack tilt the balances between restraint and indulgence, clarity and obfuscation, independence and need. They go clear-eyed, quiet and scary; they thrash with joy. Wye Oak hits hard, even when it sounds like it’s breaking down.

Read NPR’s Favorite 25 (so far), listen to the NPR music crew discuss their choices, and vote for your favorite albums so far in their poll which includes even more Merge releases now at NPR.org/music.

Also, last month, Wye Oak performed at the Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge outside of Seattle, WA. NPR has their entire set streaming now at NPR.org/music.

Civilian is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

Wye Oak on tour:
* – w/ Explosions in the Sky
# – w/ Yo La Tengo & The National
Jun 16 London, UK – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
Jul 15 Hartford, CT – Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Jul 16 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
Jul 18 New York, NY – Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Aug 03 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Aug 05–06 Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Aug 07 Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon
Aug 09 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
Aug 12 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre (w/ The Decemberists)
Aug 14 San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
Sep 06 Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion #
Sep 07 Philadelphia, PA – Academy of Music #
Sep 08 Philadelphia, PA – Academy of Music #
Sep 09 Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavilion #
Sep 28 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s *
Sep 29 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle *
Sep 30 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel *
Oct 06 Montreal, QC – Metropolis Theatre *
Oct 07 Toronto, ON – The Sound Academy *
Oct 08 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre *
Oct 10 Minneapolis, MN – First Ave *
Oct 11 Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom *
Oct 12 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater *
Oct 13 Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom *