Quickie Pacific Northwest Indie-Cred Checklist:
1) Do you wear converse? Check! 2) Did Phil Ek record/produce your album? Check! 3) Has Kathleen Wilson mentioned and/or insulted you in her column? Check! 4) Do you drink cheap no-nonsense American beer? Check! 5) Did you spill said beer over imaginary girl who came to review your show? Check! 6) Does your band feature a muddled tenorous male vocal and dirtied indie-rock power chords (see item 2 above)? Check! 7) Do you work at the Cha Cha? Nope. Drat. Still, a solid 86% here. Prognostic indicators seem to indicate we've got a big hit on our hands with the fine lads from Yeek Yak Airforce.
Readers may recall that Imaginary Girl Marlene and I went to review Yeek Yak Airforce last month at the Croodile, but arrived too late to see the show. Whoops! We promised the Girls would make their next show… and a girl's gotta keep her promise.
I was out of the country when Yeek Yak Airforce played last month, but after reading that review, I was eager to hear for myself.
I hate to show off… but I felt like a veteran at tonight's show, having had the new CD in my possession for over a month (thanks, Mike!). Yeek Yak Airforce's onstage performance was much what I expected: not flashy and no-frills… just straight-forward rocking and rolling.
After listening to the largely uninspiring opening band Dutch Flat (how many ways can one say "driving indie-guitar rock?"), I found Yeek Yak's (may I call them that?) performance more polished sounding, and more structured. Now I'm not surprised that I first met drummer Mike Bundy at the Pinback show. I definitely hear a sound-semblance.
Somehow, this live performance isn't quite as compelling as I anticipated after listening to the CD. They're quite good… and they sure do sound like Modest Mouse et al.
I have one long pair of eyes and no ears. Liz, else what have you got?
Yeah, tonight just feels like an off night, in general. I was definitely more in the mood for something catchier, poppier, perhaps something with a bit more of a hook.
But they have a great, solid sound, and I feel comfortable and familiar with them already. They sound methodical, yet still play with passion… and despite their overt Seattle rock credentials, Ollie (the lead singer) is too much of a goofball for them to take themselves too seriously. What a refreshing concept.
Yeah, and they're all such sweethearts. I hope their successes don't rage to their heads. At least, not too quickly.
It's positively inevitable that we'll be hearing lots about these guys. They could be the next Pinback. Be prepared!
Yes. As we said in the last review, fans of other PNW favorites like Built to Spill and Modest Mouse will have no choice but to adore this CD. It's really quite good. And you can even buy it online through Amazon.com. (uh oh, I think this might diminished some of that aforementioned indie-credibility, eh…?)