by Caitlin Baldridge
Young Yeller is a one-man-band consisting of heavy synthesizers, twangy electric guitar, and an overall strong sound of the 80’s. Young Yeller, or Jesse Brickel, has been in the music game for years with his classical training in percussion and previous membership in the band Chrome Sparks. Brickel took his own route in 2011 where he started to distinguish himself from the Flying Lotus vibes of Chrome Sparks.
The self titled LP starts out with a track called “war” in which the listener is roped in with vocals heavily prominent over soft guitar and synthesizer. Next comes in minimalist drums and the haunting vocals continue, developing harmonies over staccato electric guitar. After listening to the album the whole way through it’s interesting that “war” is the opening track because it sounds nothing like the rest of the disco-y record.
Excluding tracks “war” and “wait”, which is the slow ballad of the album, the tracks are all atmospheric, mostly uptempo, and heavily electronic. The song “it’s ok, it’s ok” sounds like it belongs in film Donnie Darko with its distinct melody and abstract vocals.
The only downsides to the album are that the tracks are somewhat monotonous, and the lyrics aren’t interesting so don’t expect it to pull at your heart-strings. However, Young Yeller is perfect for easy listening or dancing to, and might interest fans of Yeasayer and the Polyphonic Spree.
Rating: 6.8/10