Band of the Week: Yeasayer

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Fun Fact: The band's collective favorite musical is Oliver!.
Why It's Worth Watching: Yeasayer mixes world-music rhythms with indie-rock songwriting, creating music that draws from a wealth of influences without sounding dated or nostalgic.
For Fans Of: David Byrne and Brian Eno’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Peter Gabriel, TV on the Radio

In its very short history, Yeasayer has already inspired a long list of disparate comparisons—to members of the old guard like Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Fleetwood Mac, as well as to contemporary acts like Animal Collective, TV on the Radio and Vampire Weekend—which only reveals the breadth and complexity of the band's music. “We are influenced by a lot of disparate musical elements, and we try to allow those elements to come together in new ways,” says Chris Keating, one of the band’s four singers and multi-instrumentalists.

Yeasayer's ambitious debut, All Hour Cymbals, layers sounds and styles densely, filtering world-music influences through '70s rock, '80s post-punk, and '90s indie. On first single “2080,” about making the best of a bleak future, distinctly Afropop guitars descend through the chanted chorus. Sitars and polyrhythmic percussion percolate throughout “Wait for the Summer,” while that song’s counterpart, “Wait for the Wintertime,” stomps like heavy metal.

Keating and Anand Wilder, who grew up together in Baltimore, joined Ira Wolf Tuton and Luke Fasano to form Yeasayer in 2005. All four sing and write, which makes their recording sessions particularly fluid. “We are all pretty open to each other’s suggestions,” Keating says. “Our songwriting process is about constant revision and collage. It is very rare that one person comes to the process with lyrics, chords and a melody in hand.” That approach means the songs change constantly, both in the studio and on stage, but in mixing the familiar with the unfamiliar, Yeasayer remains accessible as well as thought-provoking. “We are conscious of not becoming too masturbatory with arrangement,” Keating explains. “We make pop songs.”

After hearing demos the band posted online, Jason Foster, who runs Monitor Records (one-time home to acts as diverse as Battles, Part Chimp, Indian Jewelry, and Cass McCombs), signed the band to his new label/management company, We Are Free. “He is Baltimore kin, so we hit it off pretty easily,” Keating says of Foster. “We weren’t nervous about the new imprint; it seemed like a good way to get a fresh start. Build from the ground up on all fronts.”

We Are Free released All Hour Cymbals in October to glowing reviews, sparked by the blog frenzy around “2080” and the band’s intense, energetic live shows. Last fall, the band embarked on an extensive European tour, and is currently amidst a stint of U.S. dates. “I want the audience to remember the experience,” Keating says. “It’s okay if they hate us or think we look ridiculous, but we spend a lot of time crafting a live show that is at least entertaining. Live music is meant to be challenging and exciting.”

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