Yeasayer
Roundhouse, London
21/10/2010

Brooklyn’s tie-dyed, bearded hipster art-pop scene has been vibrant these past few years, throwing up great music from the likes of Violens, MGMT and tonight’s hosts Yeasayer. Perhaps all of these neighbouring bands should come with a warning stamped on their concert tickets though. One which reads “Contains Traces Of Self-Indulgence And Jamming.” as anyone who has caught MGMT in particular will testify, there is nothing worse than acid-fried pop magic taking one trip too far and ending up in a never-ending, navel-gazing circle of aimless psychedelia.

The big worry about Yeasayer is that at any minute their odd pop genius will veer an inch too near to the kaftans and shisha pipes and end up in a full on bongo and sitar led Prog odyssey. Opening with ‘Madder Red’ immediately calms the nerves, however, as the grandiose chants emanating from the band wash over the audience, casting spells with each and every repeated chorus. Singer Chris Keating and guitarist Adnan Wilder share vocals all evening, with Wilder’s endearingly awkward, almost feminine vocals impressing the most on ‘I Remember’. It is Keating who is dominant though, taking the brown and green camp fire shades Yeasayer dwell in and coating them in chrome and white, dragging them into the future. Bouncing and bopping, he weaves his way through a frantic rendition of ‘Rome’ before sounding positively primal on first album cut ‘Sunrise’.

Though those two big singles receive the loudest cheers it is a lesser-known song which is arguably the standout performance of the evening. ‘2080’ from the band’s debut album ‘All Hour Cymbals’ transforms in the live arena into a gargantuan and majestic beast that simply cannot be tamed; enveloping an audience still reeling from a performance from one of the bands of the year, whole. Yeasayer clearly realise their strengths lie in their taut pop anthems which seemingly come from outer space. Well honed from a long festival season, the band seem keen to let loose and explore the extra space the longer time slot tonight’s headline appearance gifts them. It’s at this point the “Extended Jam” warning lights should be flashing and those with a low tolerance for noodling ushered towards the exits. However, Yeasayer understand moderation and as a result manage to indulge without becoming indulgent. Plus, when you can hit the audience with a one-two as good as ‘Ambling Alp’ and ‘O.N.E.’ then you’ve probably earned the right to show off a bit.

David Renshaw