Last Friday, March 18th 2011, something extraordinarily epic happened and it didn’t involve Charlie Sheen. VICE, Intel and Dell rolled out their new collaborative NOISEY for all music lovers to experience.

I think Eddy Moretti, Executive Creative Director of VICE described it best, “Every day we celebrate young musicians who wear their passion for their art on their sleeves. Noisey is a celebration of music in its purest form: live. But it’s also about the fans, the young people all over world who live and dream in musical notes. Think of Noisey as an always-evolving, loving-crafted, global music documentary. Because that’s what it is.”

Flee before me.

Shalom and happy Tuesday to you, my friends. I’m assuming you thought I gave up on this precious piece of electronic journalism, but let me assure you I have not.  I am back and more enthused than ever on the dawn of this incredible new decade. A decade filled with limitless possibilities and unfathomable promise. 2010 has been mighty generous to me thus far, with people, opportunities and of course, music.  So I am here to delve into the last of those three for your reading pleasure. More specifically, I am here to review Yeasayer’s new album Odd Blood.

1. The Children

The clunk and clank of a mysterious forced march of caught bandits in some futuristic landscape bring in the reverberations and voice manipulation of Chris Keating, very similar to what you might hear from The Knife, rendering him almost completely unintelligible. From an instrumental standpoint, you’ll hear some nice pianos, xylophone and even a faint horn. This is such a unique and interesting way to start off, I’m convinced the song is used as a secret code to invite the listener to expand their mind for the duration of the album.

2. Ambling Alp

The Children fades serenely into the first few notes of Ambling Alp and you immediately know this song is going to  rip your heart out, if only by the first few soulful and precision-laden drum beats.  Plainly put, this is an epic song with a killer hook. I think another reviewer put it best when likening it to Peter Gabriel in his  “Shock the Monkey” pop brilliance days.  Chris Keating’s voice demands attention and owns every square mile of this song.  He is in his finest form vocally and leaves you wanting for more.  Lyrically, an electronic lesson-filled tune paying homage to classics such as “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens as Keating sings “And if anyone should cheat you, take advantage of or beat you, raise your head and wear your wounds with pride.”

3. Madder Red

Vocals. Vocals. Vocals. And group ones at that. Melodic war cries, wailing for understanding. Talk about paying your respect to the 80′s. Almost Toto-ish at times with the harmonies and some resounding electronic drum beats eerily similar to any Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album, but don’t let that scare you. If this album will prove one thing, it will be that Yeasayer loves to layer. Sounds upon effects upon sounds. They’re aiming to be the mixologists of the music industry. Another catchy chorus that will send shivers down your spine and won’t leave your head for hours.

4. I Remember

A true love song,  Lou Gramm and the rest of Foreigner would be proud.  Frantic synth slides into monstrous and gripping drum beats that may or may not be ripped off from the “Chariots of Fire” theme. Keating’s falsetto so haunting it takes you back to holding your first love as he wails “You’re stuck on my mind, all the time” over and over.

5. O.N.E.

If you go to the Yeasayer myspace page (myspace.com/yeasayer) you will notice that their headline reads “Enya with Bounce.” Never is this more apparent than in the song O.N.E. From the get-go, you are immediately whisked away to a foreign land, you might even want to call it “Storms of Africa” hyped up on adderall. Other than Enya’s influence, this is definitely a tune for all you Animal Collective lovers out there, lots of energy and lots of squelchy synths. This tune will make you move.

6. Love Me Girl

Initially the most rave-esque of all the tunes and just when you think it’s going to explode, the song shifts into a psychadelic drum-induced beat fest. Keating, seeming to have had some romantic hardships during the making of this album sings “What is she covering up? What is she lying about?” amidst the harmonies of the rest of the band. Housey piano and interspliced Birds of Paradise noises round this clever tune out.

7. Rome

Danceable Marimba-infused song that happens to be a little too Lou Bega for my taste. Yeasayer really holding strong on the exotic animal sounds, leaves one feeling as if you’re at the zoo a bit. Over-processed beats, a blurry and stubborn bass line holds the song while crooked keyboard lines and Keating’s vocals weave in and out of each other in their own global shuffle.

8. Strange Reunions

A technical technicolored dreamcoat of wordly sounds. And of course, some birds, but I don’t mind. The sitar is warmly welcomed and the clapping on “Strange Reunions” is reminiscent of their song “Tightrope” one of my favorites from their contribution to Dark was the Night.

9. Mondegreen

Whop Whack Whop Whack Whop Whack, the thudding beats will hypnotize your tapping foot until your rhythmic extremity no longer has a will of its own. A sexy tune that has Keating confessing “Everyone’s talking ’bout me and my baby/making love to the morning light.”  A spastic clap-along for the indie kids.

10. Grizelda

Doing what they do best, using clapping to it’s fullest. How they make it work in a psychedelic folk  lullaby escapes me.  But I love it.  Layers of vocals, including Keating’s falsetto for the last time. This song will send you off to dreams of futuristic faraway lands.

Yeasayer- “I Remember”

Yeasayer- “Madder Red”

I realize that I’ve been posting like a paranoid schizophrenic, but this morning, Yeasayer announced the official dates for the tour that will support their new album ‘Odd Blood’ which becomes available on February 9th of 2010. And if you’ve spoken to me within the last few weeks, you know that this is my band. These are my boys.

If you don’t know much about them, they describe their music as “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel” which of course, leaves room for all types of interpretation, therefore forcing you to check it out and decipher on your own.

YEASAYER came to national attention after their appearance at 2007’s SXSW festival in Austin, TX.  An experimental band out of Brooklyn, NY (but originally from Baltimore), the band consists of  Anand Wilder, Chris Keating, and Ira Wolf Tuton.

Originally conjured within the hills of Woodstock, NY at the Marotta lair, then taken to the steely sweeps of NYC,  Odd Blood took many layers to finalize, but with all things Yeasayer the wait is undoubtedly worth it. Filled with their own take on pop pleasures and experimentation, the band has once again carved its own path through that ice cold glacier that is modern pop/rock.

The new album was actually leaked on  December 10th of  this year . Acknowledging this, the band posted on their Twitter page, “Presents are always spoiled for those who open them before they are supposed to.” I couldn’t agree more.

YEASAYER TOUR DATES

02.05 Los Angeles, CA – Natural History Museum
02.08 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
02.09 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
04.03 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
04.04 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
04.05 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
04.06 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
04.07 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone Cafe
04.08 Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre
04.09 Houston, TX – House of Blues
04.10 Austin, TX – The Parish
04.11 Austin, TX – The Parish
04.14 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
04.15 Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
04.17 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
04.19 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
04.20 Seattle, WA – Neumos
04.21 Vancouer, BC – Commodore Ballroom
04.23 Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
04.24 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre
04.25 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
04.26 Saint Louis, MO – Gargoyle Club
04.27 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre
04.28 Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
04.29 Chicago, IL – Metro
04.30 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
05.01 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
05.02 Montreal, PQ – La Sala Rossa
05.03 Boston, MA – Paradise
05.04 New York, NY – Webster Hall
05.05 Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero

My good friend Maz Ameli just posted this link on facebook and I thought I’d share it with you. If you are a law abiding citizen and abstain from stealing music from the internets, this is Amiestreet.com‘s gift to you.  Essentially all albums that you would covet for the year of 2009, if your taste in musicality is anywhere close to mine. If it’s not, tough cookies and get with it. Please proceed to get excited and start impulsively purchasing like an insomniac on the HSN.

A few of the bands you will find in this sweet bundle:

Phoenix
Passion Pit
Atlas Sound
Girls
Great Lake Swimmers
St. Vincent
The Antlers
Animal Collective

Just check it out, already.

One of the many perks that comes with working for a company entirely devoted to promoting and exposing new musical talent is the access to a multitude of magazine subscriptions that I don’t have the money for on my own. I’m constantly tearing out articles and stuffing them into my skinny jeans hoping no one will notice. Last week, while coming out of the john, I grabbed a month-old edition of NME (The New Musical Express) and was pleased to discover their “What’s on the NME Stereo” page. Essentially, two pages of ten new tracks they’re suggesting we simple folk checkout.

There seems to be an evolution of dubstep occuring since it’s beginnings ten years ago.  Electronic artists are taking more creative control than ever and Samuel and the Dragon have given us something we have really yet to hear before, a song-step if you will (and I will).  If you have ever thought electronics couldn’t be soulfoul, S and the D are here to prove you wrong. In their debut single “Diamonds on a Boat” we have an anguished (also gifted) crooner and some sparse beats interrupted by the occasional synth squiggle.

NME says: “If you thrilled to the XX’s rich dubstep torch songs, you’ll be all over this dreamy, slo-core synth number.”

CMC says: If you’re looking for a pure-voiced hopeless romantic backed up by some eclectic uses of synths and beats, these are your boys.

They have one other single that I’m not nearly as impressed with called “Rising Up” check it out on their myspace here , if that is your desire.  Let’s hope they’re in the studio devising their EP as we speak.