Yeasayer – ‘Odd Blood’

It has been over a year now since I first had Yeasayer proffered to me and the imminent arrival of their second album, Feb 10, with their self styled ‘Enya with bounce’ has me all uppity and quite excited.

The band first came to attention after appearing at the SXSW festival in early 2007. Their first single consisted of the tracks “Sunrise” and “2080″. Two truly magnificent tracks that went on to form the basis of their first album ‘All Hour Cymbals’. These tracks just made me happy, blanket happy. Which makes sense if you take into account the band’s name.

The album did make some waves but it is the forthcoming ‘Odd Blood’ that is really expected to elevate them to ‘stardom’. Certainly part of the Brooklyn ilk, a sub-culture which has spawned innumerable interesting bands of late, TV on the Radio /  Chairlift to name but two. Imagine Dalston devoid of the urban prophet of doom malarkey and your getting close.

In recent interview with Loud and Quiet magazine the band expressed a certain apprehension at their possible fame. Their dislike of the obligatory genre labels and the mainstream media’s fixation with shallow fads such as clothing, liaisons and narcotics abuse have left them somewhat alienated. Or in their own words;

‘They’re not doing anything that interesting. They are writing for 14/15 year old girls and 14/15 year old girls are 17/18 year old girls by the time the next album comes out and are now like ‘Ooh Lady Gaga’.

It may be a winter of discontent, however I hope the new album will temper this somewhat.