On Repeat: Yeasayer – Odd Blood
Posted by: nick
So the time is almost upon us (Feb 8th) for the mighty Brooklynites Yeasayer‘s much talked about second album ‘Odd Blood’. The huge anticipation comes following a debut album, All Hour Cymbals, which took the indie world by storm with it’s unique blend of world music meets Talking Heads-esque groove. Now a cunningly released couple of free singles from ‘Odd Blood’, ‘Ambling Alp’ and the dancefloor filler ‘O.N.E.’, have showcased Yeasayer’s supposedly more radio friendly side. But what of the rest of the album?
We must admit to being a little nervous that Yeasayer might have shown their hand a little early with those two magnificent free tracks (grab them below and see for yourself). It turns out that they ARE arguably the biggest tunes on the album as far as immediacy goes but perhaps only just and who wants to listen to singles all day long anyhow?! Following hot in their footsteps are the hip hop (think Common more than Dre Dre) infused ‘Rome’ and the slick, R’n'B flow of ‘Love Me Girl’ whose play count is rising sharply on our iTunes with every passing day.
This is undeniably a more commercial Yeasayer. There are electronic beats and keys and synth flourishes that would have MGMT kicking themselves for not writing them. But the now 3-piece (previously 4) all the while manage to keep at least an arms length from the complete mainstream thanks to their inherent weirdness (see the wonderfully dark opener ‘The Children’) and world music influences which can still be heard (the magnificent ‘Madder Red’ comes complete with trademark Yeasayer ‘ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo’s) although more in the background than on ‘All Hour Cymbals’.
Chris Keating’s vocals are pushed to the foreground on this record and sound all the better for it, reaching far more frequently the sort of peaks that you may remember on little gems like ’2080′ and ‘Wait For The Summer’.
We’re not too sure about the horn laden ‘Mondegreen’ but aside from that there’s hardly a complaint to be heard from this camp.
This will be a tough album to beat this year.
7Digital are running a competition to win two tickets to the bands Koko show in May.
pre-order: Yeasayer – Odd Blood cd/lp (with bonus disc) / mp3 / iTunes
