Rating: NNNNN
Who’d have thought the psych-folk pile, already teetering on the brink of over-saturation, would peak with Yeasayer’s second album? With the exception of opener The Children, which sounds like a forgotten Fever Ray track, Anand Wilder, Chris Keating and Ira Wolf Tuton have gone bigger, better and more cohesive.
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Campy 80s synths are tempered by songwriting that’s so strong, you never feel the Brooklyn trio’s drifting toward parody. The echo-chambered ascents, descents and falsetto crescendos glue themselves in your mind, especially on highlight I Remember. O.N.E. hits harder with African rhythmic thumps that other bands are doing, just not this well.
Hopefully there’s still enough room on people’s psych plates for Odd Blood, a masterful follow-up that deserves to get into your ears.
Top track: O.N.E.
Yeasayer play Lee’s Palace May 1.
