Search - Yeasayer :: Odd Blood

I'm a Yeasayer...

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 02/08/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"US trio Yeasayer are musical magpies, cut from the same colourful cloth as acts like MGMT or Santogold. "Odd Blood" is their sophomore disc, comprising catchy jittery electronic Pop with a myriad of influences.



The woozy "Strange Reunions" has a Middle Eastern feel as does "Madder Red" (with a hummed wordless chorus), while the psychedelic clap-filled ballad "I Remember" is remniscent of "Animal Collective". At 10 tracks, no two songs are alike. Their debut CD was beautifully fractured psychedelic Folk/Pop, and they retain their strong sense of melody despite the change in style.



Other standouts are the Radiohead-style "The Children" (with eerie vocodered vocals and clanking beats), the tribal-sounding "O.N.E.", the progressively trancey "Love Me Girl" (my favourite), the bouncy "Rome" with stabbing syths & the experimental ballad "Grizelda".



Otherworldly and highly infectious!"

Woah.

Josh Bubbles | 02/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer's first album was a shambling, faded psychedelic romp through post-apocalyptic Africa and Asia. In contrast to that, this sophomore effort, Odd Blood, is a strange marriage of Animal Collective, Radiohead, The Knife, and Phoenix's dancy electro pop. Higher production values come with a complete 180 in terms of musical design, but I'll be damned if it isn't just as fun.



I admit, I enjoyed the old Yeasayer more in terms of genre, but slap me upside the head if I didn't say this wasn't one of the better records I've heard in a while. This new music's just as well written and certainly more mature, and the cheerier atmosphere makes it more approachable. It's a significant movement for the band and it makes me all the more excited for these talented musicians. At least no one can say Yeasayer took the easy way out."

Not a fan of this this one

D. Casey | 02/13/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I was a late comer (last summer) to "All Hour Cymbals" but I love that album and was really looking forward to this one. I have been desperately trying to like it since Tuesday and I have to be honest: this is nothing like the previous album and a huge disappointment. There are some catchy songs, but I cannot name one that comes close to having the staying power of nearly every song from the previous album. Worse still, I find about half the album just bad. I have no doubt it will appeal to a broader audience as much of it is probably pretty danceable and hummable, but it does not capture the subtle almost Sung Tongish grace of much of previous album. While "Cymbals" was reserved, subtle, catchy and beautiful, this is up front, in your face and sounds like it was produced for Top 40 radio play (I say that more in feeling rather than as a general judgment of the bands purpose).



I know musicians progress and often that progression leaves us yearning for the old while we learn to appreciate the nuances of the new, but in this case Yeasayer has progressed in a direction that I just cant get into."