YACHT: Shangri-La

YACHT
Shangri-La
Rating: Grrrr

When YACHT was only a side project for The Blow's Jona Bechtolt, the music was mainly quirky instrumental electro pop that had its pleasures but never really grabbed my attention for long. Over the years, Bechtolt began adding various vocalists, opening his sound up to more varieety and texture. With a jump to the DFA label a couple of years ago, Bechtolt added full time vocalist Claire Evans and released See Mystery Lights, and become more full on dance oriented, mixing playful experimentation with overt pop sensibilities, and creating an album that was almost too catchy for its own good. The follow up, Shangri-La, takes things up a notch, sounding less like a laptop album, adding more varied, organic instrumentation and really sounding like a true "band." They are also tackling weightier subjects, as Shangri-La (which has sort of loose concept) takes on issues of God, heaven and hell, paradise, etc., leaning towards a view of this being the one life we have and once it's done it's done, so you might as well make heaven a place on earth.

Opening song duo "Utopia" and "Dystopia (The Earth Is On Fire)" set the tone, stating in no uncertain terms that

"We all know when we wake up
That this is what all we get,
This is what we get."

and that because of this realization we should take better care of the earth, instead of the corporations and republicans will lead the chant:

"The Earth, the Earth is on fire!
We don't have no daughter,
Let the motherfucker burn!"



And while lyrically and thematically this appears to be something overly heavy and somber, YACHT is smart enough not to take themselves too seriously, pairing their views with very catchy melodies, making what could have come across as sermonizing into something quite fun and very danceable. Indeed, musically the band recalls a lot of 80s titans, such as early Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Devo, and even B-52s.

"Beam Me Up" is a barn-burning number with fuzzed out guitars, driving beat, and a catchy chorus, which leads into the funky bass and cowbell laden "Paradise Engineering," which, with Evan's call and response like vocals, sounds like a modern update of "Once In A Lifetime."



"Tripped And Fell In Love With You," falls perfectly within the DFA template, a perfect four to the floor motorik beat, analog synths bleeping and blooping along with Evans and Bechtolt's intertwining vocals.



One of the best surprises is the title track which, aside from the opening twinkling keys and whooshing synths, takes on a very simple melody and more organic instruments, and becomes a fitting sing along ending to a fun album, preferring to make earth the paradise it should be, singing:

"St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I love my friends in hell, as above and so below
When the rapture comes, if you don't mind
I'll be waiting down here and sweating

If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?"



Shangri-La is one of the most fun albums of the summer, with track after track of booty-shaking fun. There are a few issues I have with the album, but they are fairly minor. Evans' vocals can get a little one note at times, and the middle of the record can get bogged down with some slower material. I love the wry, cynical lyrics of "Love In The Dark," however, the music almost drags the song down and the album with it. And the ping-pong blooping synths and scratchy guitars of "One Step" never gels into something more than what sounds like a mismatched collaboration between early Depeche Mode and Talking Heads. And just when I thought the album had run off the rails, "Holy Roller," which still starts off slow, kicked up steam at the chorus and even throws in some dubstep bass wobble which caught me off guard.

YACHT is really coming together as a true band, sounding less like the work of one man with some backing musicians and vocalists and more like a true collaboration, which makes them tighter and more focused. While I loved See Mystery Lights, it was always at arms-length. Shangri-La is warmer and more inviting, and, heavy subject matter aside, is one of the most fun summer albums I have heard in awhile. I whole-heartedly recommend playing at full volume with all the windows down, being indoctrinated by their views: "The future exists first in our imagination/Then in our will/Then in reality."

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.