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Defining the Brooklyn Sound
Milwaukee-virgins Yeasayer make first stop at Turner Hall Ballroom
By Alex Rewey
Jokingly describing themselves as “Enya with bounce,” the headlining Yeasayer often beg more than one favorable comparison to fellow NYC avant-garde group, The Animal Collective, for their similarly perfected precision vocal harmony, and unconventional instrumentation.
It’s been a good year for Yeasayer. Still riding the crest of their debut album, “All Hour Cymbals” released in October of last year, the Brooklyn quartet has been toured with both experimental Philly outfit Man Man and Beck, played an under the radar show at 2008’s Lollapalooza as well as embarked on an extensive national tour.
Now grouped with fellow Brooklynites Chairlift, Yeasayer made a modestly quiet stop Wednesday, Oct. 29 in Milwaukee’s staple-come-lately venue for up-and-coming indie and alternative acts, Turner Hall Ballroom.
Against a backdrop of variously colored light-up balloons, Chairlift emerged quietly before the rather restrained crowd. If '80s group the Cocteau Twins could be called “dream pop,” Chairlift is perhaps best described as a sort of contemporary nightmare pop. Crafting a similar style of bouncing ethereal soundscapes, Chairlift championed much of their new work off of their first major studio full-length “Does You Inspire You” released earlier in September.
Echoing the vocal work of Feist, as well as the vintage meandering guitar work of far grimmer acts, the relatively unknown Chairlift perfectly set the night’s somber mood with songs like “Earwig Town” and “Territory.”
Jokingly describing themselves as “Enya with bounce,” the headlining Yeasayer often beg more than one favorable comparison to fellow NYC avant-garde group, The Animal Collective, for their similarly perfected precision vocal harmony, and unconventional instrumentation. Songs like “Forgiveness” and “Worms” appeared undeniably well recreated, down to the smallest detail.
Yeasayer didn’t shy away from heavy tinges of world music with songs like “Wait for the Summer,” which delivered a hybrid take on traditional Indian sounds. Under the Technicolor bulbs, frontman Chris Keating and company appeared frantic and uncertain, which only added to their sound’s inherent orchestrated gloom and untraditional song structure.
Still at the beginning of their career, Yeasayer pulled out all the stops for a truly impressive show of equal intensity and musical showmanship.
Boasting only a burgeoning musical catalogue, Yeasayer’s performance remained short and sweet. Keating commented on the night being the first-ever appearance for the relatively young band in Milwaukee. For a new group truly at the forefront of an emerging avant-garde alternative, also situated in its epicenter, Brooklyn, NYC, one can only hope we’ll be hearing and seeing more of them in the future.
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