If you took Animal Collective, paired them with a barbershop quartet and sent them into outer space to form a band and record an album, you might be approaching the musical oddball that is Yeasayer.
Following up their critically acclaimed debut of All Hour Cymbals, the Brooklyn-based trio has decided to surpass previous production capabilities and eclipse experimental boundaries. Odd Blood is the result, the band's 2010 album of pure psychedelic pop.
All this talk of experimentation and psychedelia may set up more conventional listeners to expect incoherent noise, but if there is one thing Odd Blood does well, it is combining off-kilter instrumentation and composition into an extremely listenable package. For example, Odd Blood's lead single "Ambling Alp" engages a staccato synth riff and an easy chorus: "You must stick up for yourself, son/ Never mind what anybody else done." It is hard not to sing and dance along.
The vocal work on Odd Blood is indeed one of its strongest assets. Fortunately, there is no excess of vocal masking or alteration for the sake of experimentation - with the exception of the intro, "The Children" - a stark contrast to the ubiquity of auto-tune effects that seemingly make clear vocal expressions sound alien. It also helps that Yeasayer is a rare breed of band in which every member has a great voice. Standout vocals can be found all throughout Odd Blood; "O.N.E." and "Love Me Girl" have particularly stunning vocals.
In fact, the vocal work and clarity of sound highlight and enhance the quality of each other. Though All Hour Cymbals was somewhat cluttered at times, every little bit of layered tribal percussion and strange sample work are easily detected for a much more cohesive sound in the newest album.
That is not to say this is an entirely perfect record. The aforementioned "The Children" seems to act as a filler and misnomer for the rest of the album with its bizarre vocal masking and dismal vibe emanated through instrumentation. Additionally, the experimentation throughout the rest of Odd Blood can be taxing on the ear, causing one to question the musical merit of certain sounds. These problems, however, are few and far between, making Odd Blood an extremely strong second effort from Yeasayer and their successful brand of marketable, experimental pop.
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