QUICK SPINS: Yuck, YELLE
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on May 4, 2011 4:20PM
In which we take a quick look at a few recent or upcoming musical releases.
Yuck can't be discussed without bringing up Dinosaur Jr, since many of their songs are slathered in the exact same, right down to the tone, guitar squall J Mascis made famous. When you couple it with the fact that the group is still really young it could be easy to immediately write them off as a pleasing tribute to a time that warms the hearts of older music writers and not much more. And we admit we almost made that mistake. It's easy to get lost in the fun sentiment the heavier guitar moments offer, but the moments of real focus lie within the group's quieter moments. The album is front loaded with loud rockers like "Get Away" and "Holing Out" but the latter half is filled with folksier and poppier moments like "Sunday" and "Suck." The walls of noise give way to gentle guitar strums and the sweet intertwining of male and female vocals offering up a hopeful vulnerability backed with a sadness belying the band members' years. We lurve the LOUD moments, we admit it, but it's this mixture of the aural equivalents of Neanderthal clubbing rubbing up against wistful walks through meadows of tall spring grass that will probably lend Yuck its longevity.
Yuck plays tonight, May 4, at Lincoln Hall The show is SOLD OUT.
YELLE
Safari Disco Club
YELLE -- singer Yelle and her partners in musical buoyancy, GrandMarnier and Tepr -- ride atop a decidedly French brand of dance pop. It's all swish and sway, bedecked in neon and oversize sunglasses, topped off with impish glee. Yelle sings in French so we admit that usually we have no idea what she's saying, but that doesn't matter one whit when it's delivered with such addictive and sexy sass. We have done a little digging though, and our Francophile friends assure us that often the group's lyrics would cause more polite ladies to blush as they wittily cut men who don't measure up down to size. The group's second album, Safari Disco Club, follows the same template as their debut but the trio has made a marked improvement in punching up their beats and layering them with more personality. Whereas the debut was hugely enjoyable if largely faceless, on Safari Disco Club the years of touring (and delivering hugely entertaining and energetic stage shows)seem to have imbued YELLE with the skills needed to sharpen their attack and broaden their voice.
MP3: YELLE "Safari Disco Club"
Yelle plays May 6 at Bottom Lounge.