Before I get to the quasi-periodic album review, a quick reminder about NPR Music's First Listen Series. Every Monday, they put up entire albums to listen to in their entirety for free before the songs have been released for sale. The only downside to this is that once the album comes out in stores, NPR loses streaming privileges. Recently, they have had as varied artists as Bob Dylan's (The Witmark Demos), Elton John, Sufjan Stevens, Sean Lennon as well as a plethora of groups I was not familar with. Not all the albums are outstanding, or even moderately good, but getting a chance to hear the entire set of songs allows one to avoid getting a cd with a single good song.
And onto the review:
Yeasayer is relatively new band, first recognized at the 2007 SXSW concert. Odd Blood is their second album, more 'pop-y' than their previous work 'All Hour Cymbals' . Their sound is an eclectic mix of rock, synthetic pop, and a handful of world music. The combination can be dense at times, but is acoustically impressive, combining depth with flighty melodies and hooks. Before continuing on, take a listen.
Ambling Alp is a fairly representative song off the album, with an emphasis on the driving percussive beat as well as heavily produced vocals. What makes this album enjoyable is that it functions as an album; a coherent set of songs which connect to make a single forty minute listening experience. Bookended between a gradual warm-up in 'The Children' and an ambient departure in 'Grizelda', the songs are good individually but best as a whole. A quick note when starting 'Odd Blood': Don't turn it off half-way through the first track. Not only does it get better, but 'The Children' serves as a proper prologue before the high energy 'Ambling Alp' starts in.
'Odd Blood' does have a few downsides, especially the lyrics which can be at times generic with a good number of baby's tossed in at regular intervals. However the diversity of sounds more than compensates for the occasional lackluster romantic phrase. The songs build to the penultimate track (opaquely named 'Montegreen') which is fast, repetitive and catchy. Alternating between horns, guitar and a syth, Montegreen sums up the odd sound combinations of the album and then ends, letting the final track dissipate.
The next time we get together (when ever that might be), I will make sure to bring the disk along if any of you would like a listen to the album in its entirety.
-Kris
PS- As my first written music review, I know the writing may not be the best. Thanks for struggling through.
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