album #88

all hour cymbals (yeasayer)

I don't love it, but I like it. I almost wonder if I listened to this album too much- if the experimental boldness wore off on me and I realized that I just wasn't super in-love with a lot of the melodies. Much of the second half of the album is a little slow for my tastes, although the first half starts pretty strong. There are highlights, there's some cool stuff, from a creative perspective I definitely appreciate this record, but I think I've listened a little too much to love it.

The clearest influences here are Bowie, Eno and TV on the Radio- that interest in sound, rhythm, vocals that swing from low serenades to stirring tribal choruses. Even when the tracks are a little boring, there's a thick field of sound to each song- buzzing, lush, busy sound. Some standout tracks: "Wait for the Summer," my favorite- an almost cinematic sense of drama, a lovely eastern influence, and a truly beautiful wave of choral "la's" near the end. "2080" sounds a lot like TVOTR or (at the beginning) the Smiths- an tense guitar, a beautiful swell of vocals. I instantly liked "Forgiveness"- very weird, heavily synthesized sounds, strange, shitfting pace, great rhythyms with a somewhat tribal, choral feeling in the vocals. And "Red Cave" ends the album on a high note, a spiritual almost.

In fact, looking back on it, that seems to be the common thread of the album- something spiritual to it, each track is like an invocation, a holy tribal chant, rich with interesting, strange patterns of sound. The element that separates my favorites is the richness or interestingness of the melody.