The Bowery Presents

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Yeasayer
official website
myspace
Since the release of their critically acclaimed 2007 debut All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer has been around the world and back again. While their first record was conceived in total artistic isolation, constant touring forced Yeasayer to finally engage with their contemporaries.

Inspired by musicians hell-bent on sonic experimentation as well as those more comfortable in a pop context, Yeasayer find their domain spanning across the musical spectrum. Studied, road worn, and eager to begin phase two, Yeasayer retreated to upstate New York to begin work on their new album titled ODD BLOOD.

If All Hour Cymbals was Yeasayer’s attempt at global and ambient cultural mash-up then ODD BLOOD takes place in an off-world colony sometime after the Singularity. Glimmering reverb haze is eschewed and replaced by a cavalcade of disorienting pitch effects and flickering ectoplasmic wisps. Instead of layered vocal harmonies the processed vocals congeal into blots and blobs of otherworldly chatter. Many organic elements are left behind and replaced by sounds and rhythms that inspire the body as much as the mind. At times Yeasayer sound as if they would be at home playing live in scene from Blade Runner or inside one of Oscar Neimeyer’s concrete modernist temples from the 1960s.

ODD BLOOD is an album divided into two halves; the first being top heavy with pop songs, while the latter full of the playful and strange.

Side One. The album begins with “The Children,” a twisted chopped and screwed stomp, full of sub bass and spooky keyboards. Distorted vocals create hidden hooks and it’s immediately clear: this isn’t the same Yeasayer. After the rubble clears the album leaps into Yeasayer’s version of the pop anthem with “Ambling Alp,” “Madder Red,” “I Remember,” and “O.N.E.” Yeasayer have plunged into the craft of pop music, and the exercise has paid off.

Side Two. The second half of ODD BLOOD is slightly more experimental in nature. Sci-fi musical jams (“Mondegreen”), maniacal rants (“Grizelda”), and paranoia (“Love Me Girl”) show the band exploring more paranoid motifs, yet never deprive the listener of hooks and ear candy.

ODD BLOOD plays out at a blistering pace, yet it never sacrifices depth or content. It is immediately evident the band has advanced in songwriting as well as sonic craft. Lyrically, it is a more mature and honest album than the first, as the band demonstrates a confidence to explore more personal themes alongside vividly depicted tales. One thing is certain: Yeasayer are accomplished audiologists who are willing to pilfer decades of pop sensibilities and cultural history to create something that is uniquely their own.
Sleigh Bells
myspace
The initial meeting between Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells sounds almost like a scene out of a movie: He was working at a Brooklyn restaurant during the summer; she, a fifth grade public school teacher, was one of his customers and by chance they started talking about music. A mere week later they were recording together and thus, Sleigh Bells were formed.

To make matters even more interesting, the two come from very different musical backgrounds, with Derek playing hardcore and Alexis being part of a pop group during her teens. Their differences seem to have merged though as their current music is a bit of a mix between soft and hard. What really got my attention though were the beats. Upon first hearing their EP 2HELLWU I couldn’t help but wonder what hot shot hip-hop producer these two had teamed up with. Tracks such as ”Infinity Guitars” and “Holly” sound almost like The Kills produced by The Neptunes, while the title track and the sweet “Ring Ring” are much more laid back.

The producing is all Derek’s doing though and according to him, “everything starts with and revolves around a beat; vocal melodies and guitar lines sometimes reinforce a kick pattern”. He also claims to still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to producing, but considering how good it sounds now it can only get better.
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