Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (Album)
Eight hours into the third day of our road trip. The sheen is certainly starting to wear off the experience. We've had the Queen sing-alongs, eaten more than our yearly recommended intake of diseased roadside hotdogs and now my sister's boyfriend's face resembles a cracked birdbath. Eyes closed, leaning on her shoulder, leaking, quietly bubbling, agape at the cheap vinyl upholstery on the roof. It's just before dusk and fiery quilts have been cast over the surrounding hillsides. With just under an hour to our next stop it's time to bliss out. I put on the debut Yeasayer album.
The first thing that strikes you on the neatly cohesive All Hour Cymbals is the vocals. There is counterpoint, harmony and overall just sheer force. Considering these qualities perhaps it is not surprising then to learn that these New Yorkers started out as a barbershop quartet. Luckily none of the schtick associated with the "art form" made the distance from their beginnings to the place where the Yeasayer now find themselves. From start to finish Cymbals has a majestic hypnotic quality as if you're listening to the album underwater. Each musical element - the varied percussion, woodwind, keyboards, guitars and voices - is spread out, producing an expansive mix which makes it hard to distinguish an individual word or sound. It is worth just experiencing the album, submerging and letting it have its way with you, rather than trying to "listen" to it. There are Deep Forest moments, falsetto Radiohead moments and layered Beta Band moments but none of these references are directly derivative. The sound is uniquely their own.
In case you think, based on the description above, that this is a Rainforest and Whale Song Compilation CD you would have been led astray. The album mood ranges from boppy (Sunrise) to folky (Wait for the Summer) to verging on full blown rock (Wait for the Wintertime). There are references to Afrobeat on "2080" which driven by a nifty little bass line and a nod is given to Pink Floyd on No Need To Worry which culminates in a Gilmouresque guitar solo. The two final languishing tracks (Waves and Red Cave) tuck you in for the night and polish this gem off with a sparkle.
Dusk has given way to dark. We arrive at our destination, tired but content. All Hour Cymbals could well become the soundtrack to this trip. Only three days to go.
