|  Friday, December 07, 2007
Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals
  
|
The clicking heels of indie rocks primitive parade have been striding by for a number of years now. Releases, both current and of the not so recent variety, by artists like Animal Collective, Devendra Banhart, Coco Rosie, Grizzly Bear, and Joanna Newsom all bang the can for musical adventures of a more archaic nature, and upon first, second, and third listens to Yeasayers excellent new disc, All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free), it would seem fitting to slide the Brooklyn band into this slowly bloating sect of the indie elite. With centerpieces like Wait for the Summer and 2080 plump full of a variety of ancient treasures and trinkets percussive mantras, ritualistic chanting, enraptured hand clapping/ foot stomping, and the colorful clamor of what sound like regional, makeshift instruments Yeasayer spin the globe more than a few times throughout the course of All Hour Cymbals, excavating diverse musical relics and ricocheting rhythms from a variety of cultural/historical backgrounds. At any given moment, Yeasayers powerful pedigree pulls from African, Asian, Caribbean, Mexican, and South American origins to achieve an astounding sense of other worldliness few of their peers can match.
And yet, amazingly, as an undeniable flurry of age old embers glide around this fascinating batch of cosmic folk, All Hour Cymbals also grazes with a more modern flock of similar artistic expressions. Germs and No Need to Worry wooze with the kind of heady guitar lines and punch drunk vocals that, while floating left of center in the mix, still blast immediately outward towards the almighty. It is an emblematic production approach
one the band could probably credit Pink Floyd for inspiring. And transitioning these two tracks together? A tasty Kid A interlude, Ah Weir.
Such overt touchstones (believe me, I could keep going
Jim Morrison, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simons Graceland, etc, etc.) sometimes pave the way for a more schizophrenic listening experience. Yet All Hour Cymbals ebb and flows like cocksure clockwork, steadily ticking along from opener Sunrise to the closing moments of Red Cave. For this, Yeasayer have crafted the biggest surprise of the year...a stop you in your tracks kind of album that should have the band playing Grand Marshal to the entire bloody parade for quite some time to come. - David PitzShare To:       |
|
Reviews:
By Band:
A B C D E F G H I J
K L M N O P Q R S T
U V W X Y Z
By Date:
March, 2010
February, 2010
January, 2010
December, 2009
November, 2009
October, 2009
September, 2009
August, 2009
July, 2009
June, 2009
May, 2009
April, 2009
March, 2009
February, 2009
January, 2009
December, 2008
November, 2008
October, 2008
September, 2008
August, 2008
July, 2008
June, 2008
May, 2008
April, 2008
March, 2008
February, 2008
January, 2008
December, 2007
November, 2007
October, 2007
September, 2007
August, 2007
July, 2007
June, 2007
May, 2007
April, 2007
March, 2007
February, 2007
January, 2007
owen pallett
heartland
M. Ward
Duet For Guitars #2
editors
in this light and on this evening
|
