Yarn The Hours Away

A Brooklyn five-piece founded by a drummer, a singer/clarinetist, and a singer/guitarist, Foyer Red expanded their lineup to included members of such idiosyncratic acts as koleżanka and Hypoluxo before recording their full-length debut, Yarn the Hours Away, with producer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Liars). While those credits may give some indication of the offbeat nature of the band, it wont prepare first-timers for the full of force of the groups highly melodic merger of sunny indie pop, angular indie rock, and doses of art, punk, and math rock. A song with the title "Plumbers Unite!" sets the stage with insistent drums, a punky bass groove, squealing melodic guitar lines, and lead singers who both harmonize and compete for attention. As the track list unfolds, Elana Riordan (the clarinetist) proves to be an essential component of their sound, delivering wide-ranging melodies with a crisp, smiling vocal tone that contrasts guitarist Mitch Myers Fred Schneider-like patter. Other references to turn-of-the-80s new wave and post-punk abound, although Foyer Reds distinctive formula lands far away from pastiche, with a song like the polyrhythmic "Oh, David" approximating a power-trio vocal harmony group, and the frequent starts, stops, and direction changes of "Blue Jazz" achieving something much closer to Bitte Orca-era Dirty Projectors than to Devo or the B-52s. On that point, Foyer Red might have risked circuitry overwhelm here if not for a certain consistent spaciousness and more restrained, midtempo entries like the tuneful "Gorgeous" and closing track "Toy Wagon." The latters relatively ambling rhythms favor gentle head-bobbing over the more-prevalent pogo dancing on board -- even after the tempo picks up precipitously at the midway point. In the end, the albums more demanding qualities go down easy thanks to solid songs and an overriding sense of good fun. ~ Marcy Donelson

トーキング・ヘッズを連想させながら、マス・ロック、ポスト・ハードコア、オールディーズ、ネオアコ、チェンバー・ポップと曲ごとに印象が変わるんだから、このブルックリンの男女5人組は只者ではない。空間系の音色でフリーキーなフレーズを加えるギタリストは天才か、それとも変態か!? コケティッシュな女性ヴォーカルと寝ぼけた調子の男性ヴォーカルの掛け合いも魅力的だ。
bounce (C)山口智男