Rating: NNNN
On their driving sophomore full-length album, Vancouver-based Yukon Blonde tone down the neo-classic-rockisms and folky Fleet Foxes-aping and up the pop (and maybe even post-punk). Seeing how quickly both of those former genres are getting played out in this Sheepdogs-loving musical landscape, that’s a good thing.
The poncho-clad four-piece still deliver bright but warm tunes that will make a superb summer soundtrack, and the pop arrives through a Beach Boys-informed filter especially apparent in Oregon Shore’s multi-part harmonies and Guns’ verse melody. Big, crunchy guitar solos blast between catchy choruses, guitar jangle and ambitious harmonies, while drummer Graham Jones keeps things moving at a brisk, if relentlessly hectic, clip.
An infusion of their earlier hazy laid-backness would’ve add more variety, but Tiger Talk is still an enthusiastic, confident follow-up from a band well on its way.
Top track: My Girl
Yukon Blonde play Lee’s Palace tonight (Thursday, April 12) and tomorrow (Friday, April 13).