Monday 4 April 2016

Yeasayer 'Amen & Goodbye' (ALBUM REVIEW)

It has been a nail biting four year wait, but the fourth studio album from experimental rockers Yeasayer is finally here. The Brooklyn-based trio will release their distinctly named record Amen & Goodbye via Mute on 1 April 2016. Expect psychedelic pop beats and rippling harmonies in abundance...


Having formed in 2006, the band soon found success with the release of their debut studio album All Hour Cymbals in 2007. Core members Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton and Anand Wilder have enjoyed a colourful career: Yeasayer have performed all over the world, including the likes of the highly sought-after Lollapalooza, Leeds and Reading festivals. Their unique stage presence has captured fans with the heavy use of kaleidoscopic visuals, which has continued to remain a defining feature of their new offering.



‘I am Chemistry’ is the pre-release single, featuring a topsy-turvy video characteristic of the band’s experimental style. A neon space-scape, alien figures and hallucinogenic shapes are commonplace alongside eerie pop synths. Guest vocals from Suzzy Roche of The Roches on this track add folk to the long list of genres this band delve into. Yeasayer have previously described their sound as “Middle Eastern-psyche-snap-gospel”, an eclectic mix to say the least. Their influences are even more far-reaching, with 70s Bollywood soundtracks and Celtic music, to name a few.


Amen & Goodbye is a strange combination of the futuristic and the traditional. Tinny strings meet high-tech electro beats in what Uncut have dubbed an “excellent set of unusual songs”. The band have collaborated with David Altmejd, the New-York-based talent known for his sculptural masterpieces. Altmejd helped create the eye-catching gatefold artwork; together with Yeasayer’s quirky sound, the union forms the perfect indie rock marriage.


Amen & Goodbye is out now on Mute Records

Yeasayer official





Tracklisting
1 Daughters Of Cain
2 I Am Chemistry
3 Silly Me
4 Half Asleep
5 Dead Sea Scrolls
6 Prophecy Gun
7 Computer Canticle 1
8 Divine Simulacrum
9 Child Prodigy
10 Gerson's Whistle
11 Uma
12 Cold Night
13 Amen & Goodbye