Performer Notes

Don't judge a book by its cover. or an album by its first track. Odd Blood gets off to an odd start with "The Children" -- a robotic, plodding song that prizes mood over melody -- before settling into a more balanced groove, mixing the multicultural sounds of Yeasayer's debut with a new emphasis on electronica, global trip-hop, and digital production. Like All Hour Cymbals, this is a thinking man's album, one that requires its listeners to put on their thinking caps as well as their dancing shoes. It's more urban than its predecessor, though, with most songs ditching the tribal harmonies and lo-fi analog ambience of the band's earlier work in favor of an electric, textured sound. "Love Me Girl," with its mix of Balearic beat keyboards and sampled female vocals, could have come from an Ibiza nightclub, while "Madder Red" strikes an unlikely balance between synth pop, Middle Eastern folk, and `80s dance music. Anand Wilder often abandons his guitar entirely, focusing instead on the keyboards that serve as Odd Blood's bedrock, and he sings the latter song in a voice that's clear, pleasant, and devoid of the yelping that characterized some of All Hour Cymbals' tracks. Chris Keating has similarly improved, so much so that he delivers a rather stunning ballad -- the Air-influenced "I Remember" -- with warmth and understated confidence. Odd Blood's emphasis on genre-mashing can overwhelm the weaker tunes, whose melodies are sometimes less interesting than the arrangements themselves, but the album has enough highlights to outweigh any filler on side B. All in all, this is a rare sophomore album that widens the band's sound without narrowing its appeal. ~ Andrew Leahey

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.58) - 4 stars out of 5 = "'The Children' opens with clattering beats, synth heaves and processed vocals that crossbreed T-Pain with the Residents....'Ambling Alp' is a hugely catchy anthem..."

Spin (p.73) - "The biggest, boldest, and best moments on their second album nod flamboyantly to influences never before evident -- Erasure and Haircut 100, among others..."

Entertainment Weekly (p.105) - "Yeasayer reinvent themselves as avant-popsters, toying with the sounds of Duran Duran, Yaz, and the Cure."

Billboard (p.32) - "Between the folds of intricate sound on ODD BLOOD float Yeasayer members Anand Wilder's and Chris Keating's expressive vocal harmonies, giving this seemingly disparate, indefinable music a clear identity."

Paste (magazine) (p.62) - "[T]his version of Yeasayer has as much in common with New Order as it does Animal Collective, its many moving parts rebuilt upon a synth-pop engine."

Clash (magazine) - "On ODD BLOOD, Yeasayer have reclaimed the late-'80s and early-'90s radio friendly staples in all their glorious, sparkling energy."

Uncut (magazine) (p.34) - Ranked #39 in Uncut's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2010" -- "[T]he quartet streamlined their sound into catchy, psychedelic '80s pop."

Album: Odd Blood *
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Children, The
2)	Ambling Alp
3)	Madder Red
4)	I Remember
5)	O.N.E.
6)	Love Me Girl
7)	Rome
8)	Strange Reunions
9)	Mondegreen
10)	Grizelda

Album: Odd Blood *
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Children, The
2)	Ambling Alp
3)	Madder Red
4)	I Remember
5)	O.N.E.
6)	Love Me Girl
7)	Rome
8)	Strange Reunions
9)	Mondegreen
10)	Grizelda