Wye Oak will release a collection of eight tracks, almost abandoned for various reasons during the years between 2011 and 2014. The songs on Tween are available now from digital music services. The record will also see physical release on August 5th.

The word “tween” implies a certain, very specific kind of awkwardness, and those implications are rarely positive. But think about it like this: Something “tween” is in the process of becoming something else, and there’s a very specific kind of beauty in that becoming. There’s something rewarding in recognizing and celebrating it—in meeting it halfway.

Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack—the band’s two halves—described these songs as “not emblematic of a step forward, but a step sideways in time.” In other words, they just don’t make sense for album number five—which will happen at some point in the future. But just because they don’t belong there doesn’t mean they don’t belong anywhere. To wedge them onto Shriek would’ve been dishonest; to orphan them would’ve been somewhere on the line between criminal and just plain silly.

The new video for “Watching the Waiting” now, of which Wasner writes: “This song is about learning how to understand and accept who I truly am, and present myself more honestly to the world, without any illusions or pretense. The truth is in the mirror, but it is also much, much deeper.” Co-directed by Ashley North Compton and Michael Patrick O’Leary, the video was shot in Baltimore and edited by Owen Lang. Compton described the inspiration behind the clip: “The mirror-hair girl—inspired somewhat by the Sutherland sisters, and the concept of external-internal individuation and connection—first originated as a painting and was brought to life to emulate the song’s momentum and drive.”

Wye Oak on tour:

Jun 16 Hamden, CT – The Outer Space
Jun 17 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
Jun 18 Providence, RI – Fete Lounge
Jun 19 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
Jun 21 Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
Jun 22 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
Jun 23 Baltimore, MD – The Ottobar
Jun 25 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
Jun 26 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
Jul 07 Albuquerque, NM – Low Spirits
Jul 08 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Jul 09 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Jul 10 Boise, ID – The Olympic Venue
Jul 11 Spokane, WA – The Bartlett
Jul 12 Seattle, WA – Neumos
Jul 13 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Jul 15 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Jul 16 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
Jul 17 San Diego, CA – Casbah
Jul 18 Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
Jul 29 Norman, OK – The Opolis
Jul 30 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Jul 31 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Café
Aug 02 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
Aug 03 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
Aug 04 Ferndale, MI – The Loving Touch
Aug 05 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Aug 06 Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
Aug 07 Newport, KY – Southgate House Revival
Aug 09 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Aug 10 Dallas, TX – Club Dada
Aug 11 Austin, TX – Mohawk
Sep 08-10 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival