David Malitz reviewed a January 2008 Yeasayer performance for washingtonpost.com:
Self-described "Middle Eastern-psych-pop-snap-gospel" quartet Yeasayer played to a packed house Wednesday night at the Black Cat's Backstage. So many people missed out on tickets that some local bloggers started an online petition to have the show moved to the club's more spacious upstairs performance area. (The show stayed put; a quick return engagement in the spring was the compromise.)
Less than four months ago, the same band played the same venue and about 40 people showed up. What happened since then?
Buzz, of course. The Brooklyn group became Internet darlings, receiving raves from influential tastemakers like Pitchfork and Brooklyn Vegan, not to mention every college kid with an MP3 blog. Yeasayer is also a purveyor of the current "it" sound, a rhythmic fusion of world beats with indie rock sensibilities that has propelled bands like Vampire Weekend and Beirut to similar success.
Was all the hype justified? (Is it ever?)
Yeasayer played with great enthusiasm throughout its 40-minute set, but the musical results didn't always match the band's members' zeal. The best moments were borderline transcendent -- "2080" was an intoxicating mixture of multi-part vocal harmonies, rumbling drums and atmospheric whooshes. Singer Chris Keating set a bleak scene during the verses ("I can't sleep when I think about the times we're living in/ I can't sleep when I think about the future I was born into") before finding some hope in the chorus ("It's a new year/ I'm glad to be here/ It's a fresh spring/ So let's sing"). This lyrical theme of optimism in the face of a desolate future was a common one.
Most other songs worked with the same template but just missed the mark. The polyrhythmic backbeat and uplifting chants sounded fine, but there was rarely anything meaty enough to grab hold of. These slippery songs don't scream for big hooks, but the world music experiments of Talking Heads and Paul Simon -- clear influences on Yeasayer -- were successful because the artists were able to marry pop conventions to exotic sounds.
At this point, Yeasayer owns its sound but is still in search of the songs do it justice. When it finds them, watch out.
