ODD BLOOD

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (1282 ratings)
Sample Album
ALBUM INFORMATION
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 10   Total Length: 39:42

eMusic Review

Avatar Image
Dan Weiss

eMusic Contributor

02.08.10
If Vampire Weekend went after world music’s head, Yeasayer wants the body
Label: Secretly Canadian / SC Dist.

The secret weapon of Brooklyn’s much-ballyhooed Yeasayer is that their shamelessness is their charm. How else to explain why these master synthesists first got away with funky exotica on All Hour Cymbals and have now made even more of a spectacle copping OMD’s Dazzle Ships on the new Odd Blood? With percolating synth lines their new priority, they’ve upped the pleasure quotient a quantum and overstuffed their audio space with an abundance of goofy rhythms, complex rhythms, thrilling rhythms.

If Vampire Weekend went after world music’s head, these guys want the body. Which in no way means the foursome is unintelligent, but that their new agenda is physical. First single “Ambling Alp” takes the loose puddles and tube percussion of their debut and tightens the groove into an almost martial stomp, albeit one with a catchy chorus. Chris Keating yowls with such gleeful, theatrical aplomb that you can’t help but commend his willingness to dive into the depths of the uncool and emerge with a great hook. And that’s on top of all the synthetic elements. The imagination in “Rome,” a diwali- rockabilly organ jam is even harder to come by.

Yesayer’s defining characteristic is their hunger for new noises, reconstituting popping… read more »

Write a Review37 Member Reviews

Please log in before you review a release. Log in

user avatar

epic

spore

love their albums

user avatar

Great at times

paultaylor_2009

I must echo some of the other reviews in that this album is anchored by three really, really great tracks (2, 4, 5). The rest is a little "odder" (hehe), perhaps overly self-indulgent and just makes me wonder if I would have liked it more if they just dumbed the whole thing down and made the whole album dance-happy fun-time if I would have liked it more...perhaps. Honestly, though I like this album much more than All Hour Cymbals.

user avatar

FUN!

kamaleialoha

I wasn?t so into dance-y indie rock until now. Can?t stop listening! Good driving music. Also download "Tightrope" from the Dark Was The Night compilation.

user avatar

So good!!

BassMatt

Like Passion Pit or Metric, this will be one of those bands that you can tell your itunes friends- yah, I heard about these guys months ago. Brand new 80s music with prog rock stylings. Too catchy!!

user avatar

Addictive

hatenicknames

Can't explain why, but addictive, even though not my standard fare. Something about Ambling Alp that keeps it in my heavy rotation.

user avatar

Lawn Mowing Music (Compliment)

ToddinKC

This reminds me of some old depeche mode with all the electronica going on but without the dark mood. No one is going to off themself after listening to this. I agree the first half is better but it all holds up well after a few listens.

user avatar

Just great...

Muse8

Judge this album on its own merits, not in comparison with expectations set (and subverted here) with the first album. To my ears, this album is just as good, if following a completely different trajectory: The OMD comparison in the review is apt, as OMD also had a history including out-there adventurous and straight out pop catchiness, including hits and misses on both counts. OMD is a band which is due a rediscovery by a new generation; perhaps Yeasayer will pave the way for that event. Regardless, this is intelligent, catchy, electronic rock. Well done!

user avatar

Fantastic

mscot

My review is too long for this post so check it here: http://tinyurl.com/theRBH-OddBlood

user avatar

Style over substance

LennyMama

I got this. It sounds interesting at first, but the tunes are just suspect. I think the guys want to be producers and that's probably what they'll turn out being. It's a shame that Wild Beasts languish in the 800's and Freedy Johnston in the 500's. Those are where the songs are.

Recommended Albums

eMusic Features

indierockradio_110711_double

Gimme Indie Rock!

By Marc Hogan

Calling all poseurs, dilettantes, and part-time punks: Check your head and check your cred at the door. From Buzzcocks to Iceage, from dream-pop to chillwave, Gimme Indie Rock gives you the sickest vibes out of the scene that can't stand to be pigeonholed. Whether Dum Dum Girls or the Strange Boys, the Field Mice or Killer Mike, James Blake or PJ Harvey, you'll hear them all here-- where it's totally OK to hang the DJ. more »

40a009956b9be96bcb64a4e4becdc05e

Member Poll: Favorite 2010 Albums

By eMusic Members

We asked, you voted — these are the albums that soundtracked your 2010. These are the artists that made your pulse race, your heartstrings break and your mind explode. You love one artist so much, he made the list twice. Behold! Our eMusic members '20 favorite albums of the year, counted out five at a time. more »

They Say All Media Guide

DonÂ’t judge a book by its coverÂ… 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 manÂ’s album, one that requires its listeners to put on their thinking caps as well as their dancing shoes. ItÂ’s more urban than its predecessor, though, with most songs ditching the tribal harmonies and lo-fi analog ambience of the bandÂ’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 BloodÂ’s bedrock, and he sings the latter song in a voice thatÂ’s clear, pleasant, and devoid of the yelping that characterized some of All Hour CymbalsÂ’ 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 BloodÂ’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

more »

Activity

  • 10.06.11 > @OccupyWallSt
  • 10.06.11 > @OccupyWallSt
  • 10.06.11 Rest in peace Mr. Jobs.
  • 09.10.11 Is it just because it's fashion week or are advertisements on NYC taxi tv always about how to make my eyeliner more bold and smudge-proof?
  • 09.09.11 New Das Racist video for "Michael Jackson:" http://t.co/jhsuefm
  • 09.04.11 Cried multiple times watching Phil Ochs documentary. Thanks to @timheidecker for the tweetrec. Any other #netflixinstanttweetrecs?
  • 09.04.11 how many songs are on an album?
  • 08.31.11 We have made significant movements in a new territory to begin our assault on #3.
  • 08.31.11 I posted a new photo to Facebook http://t.co/1EvZ54a
  • 08.31.11 Techsexy #2: http://t.co/cimSxAx
  • 08.31.11 Techsexy. http://t.co/EAm8Hnk
  • 08.31.11 I posted a new photo to Facebook http://t.co/DXKWcs7
  • 08.28.11 Post-Irene Update: Wind still strong and the air smells of blueberries. Kindhearted gangs of longboard windsurfers now rule the streets.
  • 08.28.11 Is their truth to the conspiracy theory floating around the internet that Hurricane Irene was an elaborate marketing ploy by Poland Spring?
  • 08.26.11 Hurricane East Village Radio DJ set with @dapwell and @HEEMS !!!!
  • 08.22.11 In the studio with Miguel laying down some Steely Dan/Stevie Nicks/Italian Disco jams. Darkchild is in the next room!
  • 08.03.11 RT @GirlsRockDC: Please DO THIS! @Yeasayer is donating $1 to @GirlsRockDC for every "like" on this link http://t.co/XlM99Fe thank you all!
  • 07.30.11 Thanks to @theflaminglips + @Weezer for the hang time the last two nights. Maybe next time a threesome?
  • 07.28.11 Weezing Lips.
  • 07.12.11 Group listening session of album #3 demos today...83 songs is a lot to digest. Hopefully our new producer will help us whittle it down.