published: 18 /
3 /
2012
Label:
Sonic Cathedral
Format: CD
Excellent second album from acclaimed electronic/shoegaze French two piece, Yeti Lane
Review
The recipient of rave reviews for their eponymous debut LP in 2010, Yeti Lane underwent severe restructuring with the departure of founding member LoAc Carron. With the band reduced to the duo of Ben Pleng and Charlie B, they vowed to carry on, yet a radical rethink was needed. The results of which are heard on ‘The Echo Show’, which are nothing short of stunning.
Audaciously opening with ‘Analog Wheel’ at just shy of eight minutes long the longest cut on the LP, the track lives up to its moniker, featuring clusters of vintage bubbling synths. While the electronic/shoegaze duo understandably hark back to doyens of the genre such as My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3, the band’s eclectic sound palate boasts influences from US indie rock and swirling psychedelia. ‘The dexterous guitar melodies and broad rhythm guitar brush strokes of 'Strange Call' sound very pleasantly like ‘Forever Changes’-era Love, while ‘Alba’ could have slotted comfortably onto the Byrds’ 1968 opus ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers’.
‘Dead Tired’ is one of the several highlights, the oscillating electronic undertow evoking Granddaddy during their ‘Sophtware Slump’ purple patch to winning effect. Elsewhere the title track doffs its cap to another Anglo-French band, Stereolab with its simple guitar riff and skipping snare rhythm.
Interspersed with three slightly inconsequential instrumental pieces which clock in at under a minute apiece, the most radical departure on the record is left until last. ‘Faded Spectrum’, led off by a sinister feedback drenched guitar line redolent of the Raveonettes and a vocal melody reminiscent of Mercury Rev, fades out after seven minutes in a surging mass of white noise.
Despite the slew of influences on display across the disc, the results are comprehensively Yeti Lane’s own. Assembling a perfect hybridization of sensuous shoegazing guitar shimmer and lo-fi electronic introspection the duo have created a beguiling gem of a record.
Track Listing:-
1
Analog Wheel
2
The Echo Show
3
Warning Sensations
5
Logic Winds
6
Strange Call
8
Alba
10
Dead Tired
11
Sparkling Sunbeam
12
Faded Spectrum
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/YETI-LANE-387
https://twitter.com/yetilanemusic
Label Links:-
http://www.soniccathedral.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/soniccathedra
https://twitter.com/soniccathedral
https://www.youtube.com/user/https%3A/