Montreal goth garage band Yardlets recorded their lo-fi debut album, Middle Ages, on a cheap laptop, and that noisy amateur quality was a big part of its charm. For their sophomore effort, they recorded in a proper studio with producer Jace Lasek, and while he expands their sound, the results mess with the original magic too much.
Lasek instinctively gets the psychedelic 80s punk thing the band is aiming for, and he brings in some inventive textures. The problem is that we can hear the lyrics too clearly, and they’re often so bad you start to suspect the album might be a prank on listeners. It seems like Yardlets were going for a cross between Devo’s surrealism and the Cramps’ demented psychobilly, but the jokes are way too half-baked.
At least we hope they’re meant to be jokes, because if they’re taking this seriously, it’s even worse.
Top track: Baby Deer
Yardlets play the Silver Dollar Friday (May 15).
