Sylvan Esso Navigates A ‘Concrete’ Jungle

A month after returning with the single “Hot Slob,” Sylvan Esso has revealed the full picture. The Durham, N.C.-reared outfit’s fifth album, Ow ∞, arrives Sept. 11 via Psychic Hotline, marking its first LP in four years — and its debut Sylvan Esso release on its own independent label.

Group members Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn began shaping Ow ∞ in 2022 at their Betty’s studio in Chapel Hill, N.C., spending more time writing than on any previous Sylvan Esso release. As for “Concrete Glen,” it’s a woozy, late-night meditation that incorporates a sample of Sigur Rós’ “Svefn-g-englar” — a song Meath says soundtracked many of her teenage makeout sessions. Like much of Ow ∞, it blurs the line between electronic pop and a sound built from years of improvisation, experimentation and collaboration.

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Produced by Meath and Sanborn, the album is said to pair environmental dread and personal upheaval with ecstatic dance music. According to the band, Ow ∞ is a record about embracing a chaotic present while piecing yourself back together through memories, relationships and the creative process.

The project also broadens its sonic palette by inviting the largest group of collaborators Sylvan Esso has ever assembled for an album. The sessions feature six different drummers alongside contributions from Daniel Aged, Bon Iver collaborator BJ Burton, Wilco’s Glenn Kotche, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, Buddy Ross, Jake Luppen, Matt Douglas, Megafaun’s Joe Westerlund, TJ Maiani, James Mapley-Brittle and others, who add guitars, vibraphone, woodwinds, organ, piano and electronics to Sylvan Esso’s signature blend of organic and digital textures.

For Meath, the record’s unconventional arrangements are intentional. “One of my favorite ways of producing in general is to come up with an idea and then take out a third of it,” she said. “It makes your ear ask a question… it kind of forces the listener to be creative as well.”

That philosophy extends to the album’s emotional core. “Living hurts forever, and then it stops. But also it’s a little silly,” Meath added. “If you’re going to keep participating in the world, and in your life, you have to commit to being hurt… it’s like a rallying cry, saying, I’m gonna get hurt forever, and that’s okay.”

Sylvan Esso will support Ow ∞ with a previously announced North American tour beginning Oct. 1 in Atlanta and continuing into 2027, following a sold-out residency in Los Angeles last month. The act is also reviving its hometown Good Moon festival in Durham, N.C., Oct. 8-10, with a lineup featuring Tyler Childers, Meshell Ndegeocello, MJ Lenderman, Rodrigo Amarante, aja monet, Silvana Estrada and many more.

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