ZapTown

Yeasayer
Odd Blood
Secretly Canadian
4.8 out of 5 stars

Links:
Yeasayer: http://yeasayer.net/
Secretly Canadian: http://www.secretlycanadian.com/
Purchase at IndieRocket

When Yeasayer released their debut CD, All Hour Cymbals, in 2007, I was pretty quickly won over by their neo-hippy, earnestly arty prog-rock persona. “2080” was a genuinely terrific single, even though it’s world-a-come-crashing-down sentiment was almost comically dire. Vampire Weekend’s debut was released around the same time, and I remember constantly pitting the two bands (specifically, the singles: VW’s “A-Punk” and “2080”) against each other in my head – two up-and-coming lightweight boxers sparring in a ring, jabbing back and forth at each other and idling around the ring in looped circles. Who would win this epic battle of the ambitious world beat hipsters?

Well, within a month or two the outcome of the imaginary bout was apparent. Vampire Weekend faded from my memory like a Kylie Minogue tune – quickly, leaving a vaguely pleasant but hollow aftertaste – while All Hour Cymbals wound up on my year-end Top Ten list.

And here we are two years later. Between now and then, Vampire Weekend’s played Saturday Night Live. “A-Punk” is included as a selection on my son’s edition of Lego Rock Band. Contra, VW’s sophomore CD, hit Number One in Billboard. Yeasayer? Well, they played a triumphant set at last summer’s Pitchfork Festival. And last fall they released “Amblin’ Alp,” one of the finest singles of 2009 or any other year. A song about fascists. And self-actualization, I think.  And Depression-era pugilists.  My metaphor turned out more apt than I could have ever known.

When I say “Amblin’ Alp” is good – I mean it’s really good. It has one of the most infectious choruses I have ever heard, one that practically begs you to sing along, loudly, emulating the little vocal tics that make it so irresistible. Lyrically, the song is masterful: “If anyone should cheat you, take advantage of or beat you…” unravels in your ear like the solution to a clever verbal labyrinth. It’s delicious.

I assumed there would be no way the rest of Odd Blood could stand up to a song as good as “Amblin’ Alp.” Even All Hour Cymbals was a showcase for two great songs (“2080” and “Sunrise”), padded with a bunch of better-than-average album filler. There was just no reason to expect something this good.

I’ve listened to Odd Blood at least 30 times, straight through, end to end, in the last three weeks. That’s exactly 29 times more than any other record I’ve listened to in that time period. I think there’s one very simple reason I’ve been so enchanted: Odd Blood jettisons me back in time to the Summer of 1984, and in so doing elicits a rush of nostalgia for a period in my life when I was hearing music – really hearing it –  for the very first time.

Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, Yeasayer evolved from a serious art school-style musical project into the finest ‘80s synth-pop revival act since M83 released Saturdays = Youth. If I didn’t know any better (the members of the band hadn’t even been born yet!), Yeasayer got ahold of my old high school cassette case. Then they dug out all the synth-pop: Heaven 17, Yaz, Howard Jones, OMD, The Human League, Men Without Hats – Yello, for goodness’ sake! – and incorporated elements of each one into this album. As stylistic surprises go, Odd Blood is similar to The Dandy Warhols’ underrated Welcome to the Monkey House. Except here, Yeasayer is clearly enjoying itself.

More importantly, Odd Blood demonstrates Yeasayer could be this generation’s musical chameleons, seamlessly shifting genres from album to album on a whim. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.

 

 Yeasayer - O.N.E. (from the album "Odd Blood"): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download