GENRE; Jazz

LABEL; Out of your Head

REVIEWED; 20 November, 2025

RATING; 7.5

WRENS’ Half of What You See is a bracing, unpredictable record that refuses tidy categorization. Across its runtime the Brooklyn-based ensemble folds avant-garde jazz, electroacoustic textures and streetwise hip-hop into a dense, often humorous collage that alternates between controlled chaos and carefully deployed restraint. From the smirking menace of singles like “Charlie Parker” to quieter, unsettling interludes, the band revels in contrasts — brass and synths fray against elastic rhythms while sly, lived-in lyrics keep the music tethered to everyday grotesqueries. 

What makes the album compelling is its willingness to embrace imperfection: jagged improvisation and off-kilter production choices give the songs an urgent, alive feel, as if the players are discovering the record in real time. Melodies unspool and recombine, giving space for brass to act as both anchor and prankster while a rhythm section propels lurching grooves that often feel one step ahead of conventional meter. Lyrically the album rides a line between bravado and self-deprecation, which humanizes the record’s more academic gestures.  Producerly touches from data-like electronic chirps to sickly sweet string loops — push arrangements into eerie territory without losing a sly pop sense of timing. Brief interludes reset the listener, making the maximal tracks land with greater impact; the sequencing is deliberate, not scattershot. 

This isn’t an easy listen, and that’s the point: Half of What You See rewards repeated plays, revealing new details, textures and jokes each time. The album was issued through Out Of Your Head and listed for release on November 21, 2025 with limited physical editions and advance listening events noted on the Bandcamp page. Early independent coverage has praised its daring synthesis and sinister, playful mood.