Olden Yolk performs at DC9 on May 11, 2018. (Photo by Ben Eisendrath /Instagram+Twitter: Insomnigraphic/GrillworksBen)

Shane Butler (of Quilt) and Caity Shaffer formed Olden Yolk and released their self-titled debut album in February via Trouble in Mind. The band are on tour to promote the new album (with stops in Philadelphia and New York City this weekend!), and they visited DC9 on Friday, when Ben Eisendrath snapped some pictures of them in action.

Discussing the album’s lead single, “Takes One to Know One,” Shane and Caity said, “Takes One to Know One’ is a play on the phrase typically meant to assign blame through commonality. Its use in the song is closer to an acceptance of our collective situation rather than a belittlement of it. It was written in our hometown of New York City — an iconic place whose icons (monuments, buildings, public art) are continually morphing and breaking down, shifting whatever former meaning had once been assigned to them.”

Listen to Olden Yolk’s self-titled album on Bandcamp:

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=159043872 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Shane originally conceived of the group 2012 as a side project to Quilt. He collaborated with Caity on a split record with Weyes Blood in 2014, and the band was born. In live performance, Shane and Caity are joined by drummer Dan Drohan (Tei Shi, Uni Ika Ai) and guitarist Jesse DeFrancesco.

Paste magazine said of their debut record, “The sounds of Greenwich Village singer-songwriters mingle with clicky motorik rhythms — creating a dystopian strain of psych-folk that sounds as inspired by the man-made elements of the city as it does by greener pastures. Sonically, it’s gorgeous — there’s not a sharp angle on the whole album — putting you in a trance of uninterrupted plushness.”

Here are some more photos of Olden Yolk performing at DC9 on May 11, 2018. All photos copyright and courtesy of Ben Eisendrath. (Follow Ben on Instagram+Twitter: Insomnigraphic/GrillworksBen.)