Odd Blood, Yeasayer's sophomore release, is recognizable, but still in some ways a quantum leap from the much more introvert, oriental-hinged debut All Hour Cymbals from 2007. There's much more beat and zest here, and it's at times indisputably catchy. How many days this fall have I had 'Mondegreen' relentlessly revolving in my head?
It kicks off in usual, enigmatic form with 'The Children', but the pair of 'Ambling Alp' and the larger-than-life 'Madder Red', the latter of which was later accompanied by one of the most interesting music videos this year, clearly mark a turn of events. Then there's "the hit", the instantly hummable 'O.N.E.', which has a thousand times more hit credibility than the standout tunes on All Hour Cymbals such as '2080' and 'No Need To Worry', and the amiable, Donkey Kong-reminiscent 'Rome', which is more zip-tight than the synthetic all-body suit of your generic 21st century jogger.
Yeasayer have often been heralded for being true craftsmen of sound, with their vast and clever employment of timbres and rhythms from a plethora of genres and parts of the world, and this influx of spices is still present on Odd Blood, although slightly less obvious than on its predecessor, and especially some of the more middle-of-the-road tunes, such as 'I Remember', seem to have been a bit boiled over in synthesizers. This is clearly a grasp for the mainstream, but in my opinion, Yeasayer manage to do so while still preserving their decisive, off-kilter appeal.
