Tyvek is the stuff of Detroit DIY legend. I remember hearing about them when I wasn’t cool enough to know who they were, but they somehow felt familiar, and not just because their name had been seared into my head after seeing it plastered across unfinished houses in southeast Michigan for most of my life. Their sound is a continuation of Detroit’s well-established punk legacy, but more importantly, it’s an unpretentious and determined expansion of it. The band’s first album in seven years, Overground, is a prime example of that sentiment. In their own words, “It’s more than punk, it’s less than punk… a story that continues to evolve without end.”
Released last month, the record finds the band exploring new territory while also returning to the roots in some ways, doing what feels good and right in a time of overwhelming uncertainty. The theme of returning and self-reference is a deliberate part of Tyvek’s conversation with its own work. In describing the record, the band writes: “Viewing Tyvek as an unfolding artistic project, the new songs bring back melodies and messages from the past. The track ‘M-39’ (yes, a deliberate misnomer for those familiar with Detroit’s byzantine freeway system) referencing an older Tyvek song ‘Future Junk’ as an evolving meditation on the bizarre world we’ve created; driving down a submerged highway and envisioning subterranean cliff dwellings chiseled into the side of the freeway.”
The seven years since Tyvek’s last full-length release kind of feels like an eternity. Add in the weirdness of the pandemic, and seven years feels more like a decade away. But Tyvek has always been playing the long game, or the short game, or maybe no game at all. Since they started over 15 years ago they have just continued to do what they do, through band changes and world changes and everything else, all on their own time. Not in a hurry, but always moving one way or another. It’s admirable to see a band with that kind of resolve, and I guess those are the ones that stick around, right? The ones that don’t arrive on a shooting star and blow up in the atmosphere, but instead pull up a chair and stay a while, absorbing the surroundings and taking a deep breath every so often.
Despite their diehard DIY ethos, with hand-drawn flyers and unassuming press photos, Tyvek has achieved some solid recognition over the years. Pitchfork has reviewed their records a total of five times, and none have received lower than a 7.6, for whatever that is worth. Fellow hometown hero Joe Casey of Detroit post-punk outfit Protomartyr has this to say about Tyvek’s approach: “You write about where you’re from because it’s what you know but you need to avoid being super blatant about it because you want it to have a universality to it.” That seems to make sense to me, and might explain the appeal of a band that cares so little about being “cool” that they tear a hole in the coolness continuum (they will probably cringe when they read this) and end up becoming beacons of refreshing light in the drudgery of “the music scene.”
It doesn’t hurt when the lineup is stacked, either: the current roster features founder and sole Tyvek constant Kevin Boyer supplying guitar, vocals, and lyrics; Shelley Salant (Shells, XV) with circuitous leads and scratchy chords on second guitar; Fred Thomas (Idle Ray, Winged Wheel) on drums; Alex Glendenning (Deadbeat Beat) on bass; and Emily Roll (XV) on saxophone.
To celebrate the new record, the band is throwing a show on Friday at UFO Factory. When asked about the show, Shelley Salant offers: “We are really excited to play with the band Wuppet Pipes. We are big fans of their record on Siltbreeze Records (who also released our first album). We are also excited to have our longtime friend and deep record head Glen Morren DJ the show. UFO Factory is one of our favorite venues and they have always been super supportive of us, so it made sense to have the release show there.”
When asked about any pre or post show food rituals that may or may not exist, the answer was as follows: “Personally, I will definitely be eating a vegan Laika dog before the show.”
So there you have it folks, a chance to see a band that can make you feel like some things are right in the world, even as their songs comment in exasperation about how messed up everything is. I prefer to live in a world where Tyvek continues to rock on in spite of it all, and if you get a chance to check them out, I think you will too.
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