Wednesday
YACHT – Shangri-La album review
YACHT hits you hard with their fifth album, Shangri-La, a frantic, compelling concept album. Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans tell the tale of a dysfunctional work at the edge of Zion in transformation hyper-sophisticated disco utopia. An Elysium complete with insight about cosmic transmission, the vitality and true love in all of us – reminiscent of template influences from the Talking Heads and their label bosses, once LCD Soundsystem. The sonic rousing result is a fitting naively enthusiastic furor of neon splashed synths, rubber-like bass and poppy vocals. Shangri-La conjures up images of similar themes of YACHT’s 2009 See Mystery Lights – tales of apocalypse and questions about the afterlife.
Shangri-La’s opener “Utopia” gets the album off to a barreling nirvana start with a hyper-speed punk-funk jam, which becomes the cynosure attributable to the brainwash repetition of the title.
YACHT do not put it lightly when they sing about the apocalyptic implosion of the earth in “Dystopia (The Earth Is On Fire)” – “The earth, the earth, the earth is on fire/ we don’t have no daughter/ let the motherfucker burn”. A reworded version of Rock Master Scott’s “The Roof Is On Fire” exhausted chorus. The compelling dance-party track is a “post-apocalyptic fight song, a cautionary tale, a science-fiction story for our particular eco-socio-political landscape.”
Tracks like the flawless elated, collective musical liberation “Paradise Engineering” and the ambitious “I Walked Alone”, are embedded in science-fiction snapshots of a perishing society staggering towards excellence. Shangri-La comes close to being excessively sentimental as with the sequential lyrical design of “One Step”.
Shangri-La explores the disco-pop dance utopia and dystopia worlds and takes you on a journey of moody mini-epics and exhaustingly exciting but never as outlandish as you might expect, all the way until the melodious piano euphonious finale “Shangri-La”. Whether of not this paradise appeals to everyone there’s no doubt that YACHT will take you on a mystical enigma adventure of chimerical melodic panoramas, burdened with hypnotizing beats and sparkle soaked synthesizers that leave us on the dance floor in the face of apocalypse.
All entries filed under MVRemix Rock
no responses - Posted 07.06.11
The ever popular Jill Scott’s musical style can be best summed up in two words: soulful and honest. She’s managed to become a household name off the strength of three critically acclaimed albums (Words and Sounds vol.’s 1,2, and 3). She won the hearts of fans and ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.06.11
Playing to your soft spot for slow-building love incantations as much as they are your inner-need for screaming guitar blasts, Bowery Beasts announce themselves boldly with their debut EP, Heavy You (released July 5 on Black Creem Records). In doing so, the Beasts make their voice known quickly, revealing ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
They Might Be Giants? Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder; July 19, 2011)?Watch: “Tubthumping” (Chumbawumba Cover) LIVE at AV Club “Undercover” Session!Brooklyn Originals’ NEW Rock Album Drops July 19“They make defiantly uncool look and sound unbelievably cool…”? - Village Voice?TMBG “combine a Dadaist sensibility with smart hooks.”? - The New Yorker? ?They Might ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
hue: Starting Fires “What were you thinking, starting fires? Were you just trying, to reach the stars?”People start fires for a number of reasons. Sometimes for warmth, sometimes to be seen and very often, especially during this time of the year, to get a party started.It is for ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
Kingston’s PS I Love You set to release Figure It Out and confirm fall tour of North America.Toronto — PS I Love You are excited to announce the release of Figure It Out (A Collection of Singles and EPs by PS I Love You). The eleven-track collection will be ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
“Blink And You’ll Miss A Revolution” SingleAnnounce Final Cut Copy Zonoscope Tour Dates w/ Washed Out & Midnight Magic!“Blink And You’ll Miss A Revolution” (Toro Y Moi remix)Cut Copy will release the next single from Zonoscope. “Blink And You’ll Miss a Revolution.” The single release will be complete with remixes ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
Gillian Welch is back with new album after 8 year hiatus.Bluegrass fans can now breathe a sigh of relief. Gillian Welch is finally back with a new album, The Harrow & The Harvest, after an eight year long hiatus. After experiencing a seemingly unshakable case of writer’s block and frustration ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
This marital match-made in grunge rock heaven: Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry together make up Handsome Furs. Their latest release, Sound Kapital, delivers a set of tracks that differs from whats been known by the fans – adoring the trade mark howls of the lead vocal, layered with grungy guitar ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.11
Brewing new beginnings: Matt Nathanson, “Modern Love”Following a successful, career-defining release with “Some Mad Hope”(2007), San Francisco-based Matt Nathanson is back with new confidence and his ninth album “Modern Love”. “Modern Love,” produced and co-created by long time creative partner Mark Weinberg, is a blend of pop, rock, poetry, and ...continue