Music can, of course, be just about entertainment – a nice tune to dance along to, a soundtrack for a night out, a piece of escapism – all fine reasons for making music. But, surely, having gone to the effort of writing, recording and producing something and then the effort of pushing it out to the (hopefully) masses, just moaning about the fact that your girlfriend has left you or the fact that you don’t like your mother telling you to tidy your room is a bit of a wasted opportunity.
Citizens of YEAH!!! sums up what I’m talking about on this, their latest single, “Rectangle,” which offers nothing so mundane and instead fills our minds with poetic descriptions of Brazilian revolutionaries. It is not the usual stuff of popular music, but it is undoubtedly a more intriguing prospect.
And this history lesson they set to the undulating guitar wash of alt-rock sounds —a mid-paced, lilting, and slightly abrasive groove, shot through with shards of lead sonics when the mood needs heightening. Talking of moods, the one found here captures a live feel rather than subjecting the song to too much polish or overproduction, and in doing so, reminds us of all manner of 90’s outsider college rock bands and more recent alternative music makers and underground indie kids.
As the precurser to their highly anticipated third album, “Rectangle” reminds us that you can make music with the rough edges left on, that is lyrically off the beaten track and which gently wanders the outside track of the music world without resorting to histrionics and mad experimentalism, and in doing so create something palatable and poignant, understated and outstanding.
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