Search - Elsinore :: Yes Yes Yes

Plenty of styles filling one great record

Jeff Loudon | Nashville, TN | 08/12/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Elsinore has gone through quite a few changes since their last record, Nothing for Design, hit the shelves in 2006.



Self-releasing their first two records, the first of which was a live recording, Elsinore is now under the umbrella of independent label, Parasol Records. Their country and folk influences, while still surfacing on occasion, have mostly been abandoned for a more masses-friendly indie pop record with an elaborate instrumentation.



Fading into a surprising distorted guitar downbeat, Elsinore wastes no time in introducing their new style, led by Ryan Groff, the band's lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist. His vocals, making frequent sonic changes throughout the record to sound similar to everything from The Killers to Wolfmother, help to pave the way for the other instruments, setting the mood of the song and letting the music fill in the blanks. With tracks like "In the Sea & Air" and the following track, "Body of Water," this teamwork between Groff and his band mates paint a perfect picture for the listener and melds beautifully with the lyrics.



The real feature tracks, however, are still to come on Yes Yes Yes. "Lines" introduces a string section mixed perfectly with the rest of the band and a layered vocal part. No doubt Adam Schmitt, one of the record's producers and the composer of the album's string arrangements, had a great deal to do with the exceptional balance among the instruments. Anyone looking for a relatively unseen video on YouTube worth watching should look up their Chatauqua Park performance of the track for a unique acoustic perspective on this feature track. The following song, "Chemicals," completely changes styles and opens very reminiscent to The Strokes' first record. Although this abrupt mood swing takes a few seconds to come to terms with, "Chemicals" ends up being its own feature and proves Elsinore is willing to explore the boundaries of their new indie pop identity.



The title track, "Yes Yes Yes," suggests a more dance punk mentality with a dash of ska music thanks to the horns, but there is so much more to Elsinore's third release. Falling ninth out of ten tracks, it is possible Elsinore felt having "Yes Yes Yes" late on the record would convince listeners to give the rest of their music a chance before rewarding their patience with their catchiest single, but whatever the reason may be, Elsinore has vastly improved both their songwriting and musicality. There is something for everyone on this record and while the songs may seem a tad desultory as the album progresses, in the end, each track seems worthy of making the cut.



Similar Artists: Keane, The Strokes



Track Suggestion: "Lines""