I first saw Yeasayer in 2008 for their first UK show and absolutely loved it so, just to warn you, I am something of a fanboy. At Thekla on a Thursday evening there was much to enjoy about the harmonising indie-pop group: if you want to get a roomful of people to reinforce white-dancing-stereotypes then you really can’t go far wrong with newest single ‘Ambling Alps’. Curiously, the band seems to have gotten another member, at least during live performances, perhaps to accommodate their more synth-led sound of their second album, Odd Blood.
Occasionally those synths had a real swagger to them, as in opener ‘I Remember’ and, most especially, on ‘One’ which is sure to become an indie dancefloor filler very soon. But all too often the sound was left feeling a little thin especially in comparison to the multi-layered more folk styled songs from their first album, All Hour Symbals. It was telling that the biggest cheers and most frenzied out-of-time limb movements came when they acquiesced to play ‘Sunrise’. Despite much shouted demands – prompting lead-ish singer, Anand Wilder, to comment, “oh Bristol is one of those drunk towns!” – they did not play probably their biggest hit (again from the first album) ‘2080’.
They were tighter and more willing to experiment than the first time I saw them but, in the end, the album they’re touring just isn’t as good as their previous one. Here’s hoping they don’t drown in buzz-bandetry and come back with a third album that sees them write more four-part harmonies.
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