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.

I am officially rubbish, for taking so long to get this review down. Won’t bore you with excuses as to why it’s so late.

For what it’s worth, I did go to see the lovely Grizzly Bear last Sunday at the Roundhouse. The bare stage was very rustic-looking with jam jars filled with fairy lights hanging from wooden posts that were staggered across the stage. These were cleverly transformed, glowing with varying intensity to suit the mood amid a sea of lime green and electric blue; orange and purple and lilac and yellow, depending on the songs.

The audience was choca-block with die-hard fans who cheered with recognition at a lot of the tracks, much to the delight of the band. There was a lot more reverb than I thought necessary though, meaning that the lyrics got lost and we couldn’t hear what was being said in between songs. Having said that, I’m used to listening to Veckatimest on my iPod and it always sounds so close and intimate, with the four-part harmonies and gentle, rolling side drum. Victoria Legrand from Beach House (who were supporting) came on stage to sing during Two Weeks which was as melancholy and moving as we’ve come to expect.

But it was the pared down All We Ask that the band did as an encore, with acoustic guitar and a couple of instruments, that won me over and sent me off happy into the night.

Next week, Heartofnoise will be joining you from New York. Any recommendations welcome.