· jclacking · details
A sparse yet not simple outing for this member of the Dead Milkmen, including some truly folksy stuff like the title track and “Cool Water”, and surprisingly sophisticated original tracks delivered in the same man-and-his-acoustic guitar aesthetic.
No topic is too esoteric for John Darnielle to base an entire Mountain Goats album on, not even the persecution of pagans as a wave of Christianity moved through Europe in the middle ages.
YACHT dropped out of sight right before the whole "yacht rock" revival thing happened, but this release reinforces the band's penchant for commenting on current themes with the musical equivalent of wearing sunglasses inside the nightclub.
What this band brings to the mainly-instrumental surf guitar disco potluck is exactly what you'd expect a band invited to the MISGDP to bring, but let's be honest for a minute: we don't ever want to run out.
Is it the analog synthesizer flourishes, or the gentle delivery with an aggressive intent, or the seamless shuttling between disparate elements that shouldn't work together? The band sounds perfectly familiar, yet completely its own thing.
lacking.org