Over the course of the few years they’ve been in the business, people have described Yeasayer using a wide variety of adjectives: transcendent, trippy, confusing, unbelievable, weird. Their sound, occasionally ambient, often direct and purposeful, is always decidedly Yeasayer, and has garnered them a devoted fan base that spans all ages and takes all kinds. The Brooklyn trio has developed a reputation for thinking miles outside the box while still consistently delivering engaging, genre-bending music, self-described as “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel.” The taste their single, Ambling Alp, gave us for what was to come from these experimental heavy-hitters did not disappoint, and the rest of Odd Blood follows in a similar, slightly removed, psychedelic fashion. The sources of their strength (their eclectic taste, willingness to experiment, and bravery as musicians) can also alienate their audience. To the unsuspecting listener, Yeasayer’s abundance of mid-80’s synth flourishes, reminiscent of Tears For Fears and a-ha, courtesy of Chris Keating, vocalist/keyboardist, coupled with the house beats and multifarious other instruments on the album, can be overwhelming sometimes, perhaps discouraging some from delving into the album as a whole. That being said, good music is rarely made to please everyone, and an album as far out as Odd Blood is no exception. However, if one listens to the album with an open mind, or at least prior experience of Yeasayer’s predisposition for the fantastic, Odd Blood can provide quite a pleasant ride, in keeping with Yeasayer’s past quality, while further expanding the realms explored by the band.
Odd Blood’s first single, “Ambling Alp,” sets the bar high for the rest of the album. Beginning with various ambient sounds, from lonely marimba notes to an accordion being slowly expanded, the song quickly picks up into a sinfully sweet, vaguely poppy, consistently exuberant track. The song is urged forward by virtue of Keating’s upbeat vocals, the definite rise and fall of which lend them that catchy, ”single” quality we all know and love, ensuring that the melody will be firmly lodged in the back of your head for days to come. Padded and supported by confident, if intermittent, percussion, horn samples, and, of course, the ever present synthesizer, the song is a perfect example of Yeasayer at their best: an easily accessible yet singularly off-kilter anthem. The high point of the song, when Keating’s passion-strained voice peaks as he urges you to “Stick up for yourself, son / Nevermind what anybody else done,” and the multitude of instruments reach a crescendo together, is a lifting experience. It genuinely raises you out of your seat as the good vibes bleed from the speakers and seep into you, good for providing that mid-day push needed when the rest of the workday seems like too much to bear.
The rest of Odd Blood follows, to some degree, in the tracks of “Ambling Alp,” but in many ways departs from it, as each song, while under the same Yeasayer tent, exhibits a different side of their multifaceted sound. There’s the percussion and horn driven “Rome,” which has a more direct, brassy timbre than the others; the house beat centric “Love Me Girl,” complete with auto-tune and a choir, rather than the archetypal unpolished male indie rock voice we have come to expect of Keating; and, of course, the album opener, “The Children,” a shout out to yesteryear’s Yeasayer, an indescribable mash of music that has to be heard to be believed.
Yeasayer, as a whole, is an unpredictable band that refuses to don the debilitating garb of any single genre, and one that, for Odd Blood, has chosen to roost on the branches of synthesizer heavy, instrumentally viscous, psychedelic indie pop. Upon first listen the album may be intimidating, even off-putting, but after “Ambling Alp” gets its hooks into you and drags you into the deep, expansive musical pool that is Yeasayer, it’s impossible to get out until you’ve explored every nook and cranny. It’s an album that constantly stretches and reaches towards the farthest corners of music, but it’s just not an album for the faint of heart. Give it a spin, and spend the next couple hours puzzling over the sonic melting pot that is Odd Blood.
Track List:
1. The Children
2. Ambling Alp
3. Madder Red
4. I Remember
5. O.N.E.
6. Love Me Girl
7. Rome
8. Strange Reunions
9. Mondegreen
10. Grizelda
