Where does utopia end, and dystopia begin? What darkness lurks in the shadows and ignored corners of a Brave New World? Heady questions but YACHT are on the case with their fifth full-length album. Yet another victory for New York dance label DFA, this glistening and darkly slick electro-punk outing screams out loud its concept of perceived perfection in society with a ferocity that at times borders on stunning.
Sporting a voice that wouldn’t be out of place blaring from CBGB’s in the late ’70s, vocalist Clare Evans alternates between dreamy renderings of paradise and venomous diatribes railing against forced relationships, religious charlatans, and a society always stumbling in an endless quest for perfection. Multi-instrumentalist Jona Bechtolt ably provides a constantly mutating soundscape that challenges perceptions of what, exactly, electronic music can achieve.
Dystopia has Evans channeling The Bloodhound Gang; percussion-heavy I Walk Alone is reminiscent of seventies Detroit rock, and Paradise Engineering features lyrics that could have been penned by David Byrne delivered over beats and rhythms invoke the best of LCD Soundsystem.
But the best must be the sprawling and multi-layered Tripped And Fell In Love. Dense, mean, and driven by sinister synths, it’s a fantastically constructed and danceable game-changer in the world of disco-punk. Highly, highly recommended.
Best Track: Tripped And Fell In Love
If You Like This, You’ll Like: Sound of Silver LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, It’s Blitz! YEAH YEAH YEAHS, The City Never Sleeps THE CRYSTAL ARK
In A Word: Arcadian
