Heart of Noise

Ah Yeasayer. The unintentionally hippest of Brooklyn’s hipsters.

The three piece took to the stage at the Roundhouse last week laying on their blend of electro beats with lush vocal harmonies, synths a-plenty and Asian-influenced psychedelic indie-pop.

Anand Wilder is closest to me, wearing what can only be described as your Grandad’s PJs, but with enough toned biceps showing to make sure he’s recognisable. Even more surreal is the hideous animal creature from the Madder Red video, oozing puss and blood, which is carried on as their mascot.

A lot of bands hanging on the cuff sleeves of the The Next Big Thing don’t so much as grunt at the audience, preferring to retain their ‘cooler than thou’ façade. But front man Chris Keating chats away, telling us how the band played Camden Barfly years before, never thinking they’d make it to the Roundhouse just a few metres up the road.

The set includes most of the new album Odd Blood, pitch perfect and full of energy. O.N.E. becomes much more than a cheesy pop single, as they sing out the regret-tinged thoughts of a spurned lover.

But one of the highlights is 2080 from their previous album, during which Keating holds his mic out to the crowd who sing the chorus, almost word perfect.
 

After an early finish, the band piled into the afterparty at Zan Sai, DJing till the wee small hours. Far from getting trashed and misbehaving, they seemed the least inebriated there, chatting politely to pissed punters and taking their music choices very seriously.

As we staggered out of the club and into a taxi, the last I saw of Yeasayer was Ira Wolf Tuton, leaning against the wall outside talking on his phone and looking very punk with his top heavy hair, ripped sleeves and biker boots.

After a brief chat, he had to get back to the call – it was his girlfriend and they hadn’t spoken for a while. Bless.

Just another day on the road for the good boys of Brooklyn, but they’ve left a euphoric, enthused crowd of devoted fans in their wake.