Friday, January 11, 2008

YEASAYER"All Hour Cymbals"We Are Free

WHEN PROMINENT ROCKERS such as Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel dallied with world music in the '80s, they wisely collaborated with non-Western musicians. But today, groups such as Beirut and Animal Collective base their styles mostly on vague notions of exoticism. The approach can yield such clumsy results as Yeasayer's song "Wait for the Wintertime," a droning thumper that's the worst thing on the Brooklyn band's recent release, "All Hour Cymbals." Fortunately, the quartet's vocal finesse often redeems its rhythmic clunkiness.

Yeasayer emphasizes the beat with prominent (if not especially funky) bass lines and percussive outbursts that recall the structure (if not the elegance) of Indian classical music. "All Hour Cymbals" opens, however, with an a cappella "ohhhh," which begins a vocal thread that's worth following. The many-voiced harmonies of such songs as "Forgiveness" and "2080" sail above the ragged sitar riffs and random drum claps. The members of Yeasayer may think they're making neo-tribal sounds for today's global village, but their music is most convincing when it sounds like the Beach Boys.

-- Mark Jenkins

Appearing Wednesday with Mgmt. at the Black Cat (202-667-7960,http://www.blackcatdc.com). Show starts at 9.