A strange and mysterious cover. A strange and mysterious piece of music. Hmm, where to begin, what to think. Well, for starters "All Hour Cymbals" is the debut album from Brooklyn quartet Yeasayer. The music of Yeasayer honestly knows no boundaries. It draws its inspirations from many wells, the only constant being a love for experimentation and a great talent for soaring vocals. Mining some of the same territory as Akron/Family, this group embraces more poppier sounds and sometimes veers into psychedelica.

The 3 opening tracks of "All Hour Cymbals" are the ones that demand and grab your attention. "Sunrise" is dramatic and startling, featuring heavy drums, it is funky and high spirited. "Wait For the Summer" and "2080" follow the same pattern, featuring blazingly sunny pop moments. I do like these songs, but the effect fades pretty quickly for me. However, after the small interlude of the dreamy "Ah, Weir" the album enters another phase. A more substantial and giving phase, the songs reach and stretch into the sky, growing and growing till they encompass your heart. This starts with the glorious harmonies of the sometimes sombre "No Need to Worry", before running into the tribal syncopation of "Forgiveness" which has an Animal Collective feel (this has to be a good thing). "Wait For The Wintertime" is like a jam between Black Mountain and Grizzly Bear, if such a thing were possible, whilst "Worms" is all echoed drums and some more delirious harmonies. The closing song "Red Cave'' is a sumptuous piece of music with its soaring harmonies and willowy guitar. A good way to end. I like "All Hour Cymbals", but I have a feeling I will like it more in a few months, after I get to know it better. It is illuminating, but sometimes frustrating. Experimental, yet traditional in the same movement. A smorgasboard of sound and a cornucopia of ideas.

"All Hour Cymbals" can be purchased from Yeasayer.
MP3: 2080
MP3: Sunrise