The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, September 18, 2009 - SA
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, September18, 2009 -
Manic meets
mellow in
flashy 'Lights'
By SASHA RESENDE
Daily Arts Writer
If it wasn't already obvious
that YACHT's See Mystery Lights
would be consid-
ered the quintes-
sential summer
album of 2009 YA
by the indie-hip-
ster-trustafarian See Mystery
demographic, Lits
frontman Jona DFA
Bechtolt makes it
abundantly clear
on the album's aptly titled "Sum-
mer Song."
Over bubbly pop melodies and
quirky riffs, the song captures the
fleetingness of summertime while
simultaneously encouraging lis-
teners to put down their briefcases
and put on their dancing shoes. In
fact, Bechtolt makes this a com-
mand when he shouts, "Move your
feet to the summer song!" This is
an artist who certainly knows how
to get a party started.
Bechtolt is no stranger to elec-
tro-dance pop. He has been an
active collaborator in a variety of
synth-pop projects, most nota-
bly the Portland-based outfit The
Blow. Bechtolt, however, quit all
his prior commitments in 2007
to focus exclusively on YACHT, a
solo project he began in 2003. Fol-
lowing a string of well-received
releases, Bechtolt added vocalist
Clair L. Evans to his formerly one-
man show.
Evans and Bechtolt record-
ed YACHT's seventh release in
Marfa, Texas, using the area's iso-
lated scenery and a famed super-
natural phenomenon as a form of
inspiration for the group's most
recent compilation. When asked
in a recent Q&A with Teen Vogue
how the group would describe the
album in three words, the duo was
clear: "Raw Supernatural Power."
Bechtolt continued by identi-
fying Marfa as the album's single
greatest inspiration, describing
the area as "incredibly powerful
place, with blinding sunlight in the
daytime, lithium in the drinking
water and an unexplained optical
phenomenon called the 'Mystery
Lights' that takes over the sky
every night."
See Mystery Lights likely suc-
ceeds in capturing the area's
appeal, as it stands on its own
as a synth-heavy release with a
certain unearthly quality. From
upbeat ruminations about reli-
gious themes ("The Afterlife")
to brooding electro-pop incan-
tations ("Don't Fight the Dark-
ness"), the record triumphantly
ARTS IN BRIEF
Film
Perry does 'Bad'
**
"I Can Do Bad All By Myself"
Lionsgate
At Showcase and Quality 16
"I Can Do Bad All By Myself" is
a change of pace from Tyler Per-
ry's previous works, taking the
focus off the iconic, cantanker-
ous Madea (Tyler Perry, "Madea
Goes to Jail") in order to hone
in on depressed alcoholic April
(Taraji Henson, "The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button"). "Bad"
chronicles the transformation
of a young woman who, with the
help of her community, leaves her
rote world of drinking and soul-
searching to find true love.
The movie starts off nice
enough, fleshing out April and her
good-for-nothing, already-married
boyfriend. The film should even
catch the audience's attention with
a seemingly well-crafted plot.
Even so, "Bad" quickly degen-
erates for two main reasons:
First, toward the end, the movie
reverts to a superficial predict-
ability notorious in Perry's other
works. Second, "Bad" presents
too many heavy themes, from
improper parenting to drug
addiction to sexual abuse. This
makes the movie feel thin and
inadequately focused due to the
overwhelming amount of mate-
rial. While the "Bad" is definitely
a departure from the usual Perry
nonsense, it still lacks real imag-
ination and depth,
-HANS YADAV
recreates Marfa's eerie preternat-
ural splendor.
The influences of life in small
town America are clear in the
monster track "It's Boring/You
Can Live Anywhere You Want," a
nearly nine minute epic screecher
that uses a bare guitar riff over a
consistent drumbeat to emphasize
the simplicity - and at times tedi-
um - that comes with small-town
life. After a three-minute inter-
lude, the song sharply changes
direction, introducing some synth
burbles and a more dance-friendly
feel, fitting the album's general
electro-dance atmosphere.
The song later becomes a bit
repetitive and stale as it reaches its
last few minutes and it could have
certainly benefited from a sub-
stantial edit. Even still, the track
stands out for its raw post-punk
vibe and a strong emphasis on the
merits of life outside the bright
lights of a big city. These charac-
An album that
begs you to put
on your
dancing shoes.
teristics, particularly the song's
reliance on non-electronic based
influences, allow it to stand apart
from the rest of the album's more
pop-centric efforts.
While Bechtolt has recently
stated that most of his influences
tend to be "non-musical," the band
recognizes that an assortment of
outfits have indeed played a heavy
hand in influencing YACHT's most
recent offering. One of the more
comical musical references is "I'm
In Love With A Ripper," an elec-
tric wonderland that gives a sly
wink to T-Pain's own professed
love for exotic dancers. It shines
above the rest of the tracks, which
probably explains why the band
chose to release a remixed "Party"
version. Both tracks exemplify the
group's ability to churn out quality
electro-synth beats with moderate
triumph.
While the rest of the album
could have benefited from focusing
primarily on YACHT's electropop-
based talent, See Mystery Lights
certainly emphasizes the group's
ability to combine a wide variety
of musical influences and recon-
figure them into a unique auditory
experience.
MUSIC REVIEW
Left: On a box. Right: Not on a box.
ENTERTAINMENT
Drake's coronation
New EP proves hip hop can
go on without Auto-Tune
By JEFF SANFORD
Daily Arts Writer
"Best I Ever Had," the first single off of
Drake's So Far Gone EP, is by itself worth the
price of admission. Not only
was it the hottest song of
the summer, it might have
changed the course of popu- Drake
lar hip hop. That's not hyper-
bole - listen to the hook. So Far Gone
Notice anything? You hear Young Money
how strikingly human that Entertainment
voice sounds?
That's right. Drake scored
this summer's mega-hit without the use of
the much-maligned, robotizing Auto-Tune
effect. When was the last time that happened?
"Umbrella"? So rejoice,
humans. We have reclaimed
the charts. And we have Drake
- not Jay-Z, whose "D.O.A. /
(Death of Auto-Tune)" made
a strong case but did little to
sway popular opinion - to
thank.
This achievement isn't lost
on Drake. On the EP's last
track, "Fear," he raps: "No
Auto-Tune / but you can feel
the pain / It all comes spillin'
out / like you hit a vein." All
over So Far Gone, Drake seems
similarly self-aware.
On "Successful,"he reflects
on his rising profile, one
that reportedly sparked an
intense bidding war between
several drooling labels: "The
young spitter that everybody
in rap fear / A lot of y'all are
still sounding like last year /
The game needs change and I'm the mother-
fucking cashier." When considering the facts,
lines like these - and there are a lot of them
- come off as more than the typical hip-hop
braggadocio.
So Far Gone, the first proper release by the
Canadian-born Drake, was first conceived as a
16-track mixtape. But due to the wild popular-
ity of the prenominate "Best I Ever Had," it was
reformed into an easier-to-market seven-track
EP. Considering that most of his songs tend
to go on for about two minutes too long (most
tracks hover around or above the five-minute
mark), the abridgement was a wise move.
The beats range from relatively minimal and
ambient ("Successful," "Houstatlantavegas")
to organ-driven Southern funk ("Uptown").
For the most part, they do little to distinguish
themselves as more than standard-issue. But
Drake could rap over spoons and a kazoo and it
would probably be more riveting than anything
from Soulja Boy Tell'em.
Ifanything,SoFarGoneis Drake's coronation
party, which makes it both completely spirited
and a bit unsure. The constant presence of the
avuncular Lil Wayne is a bit intrusive - he's on
three of seven tracks - and Drake seems con-
tent to ride his coattails throughout the entire
EP. It would be wise for Lil Wayne to step back
and lethis protege distinguish himself from his
Old Uncle Weezy.
Despite Lil Wayne's mentorship, Drake's
flow is closer to Kanye West's. Not a spot-on
rhythmic mastermind, Drake - like West -
spits every line with laid-back authority and
drops clever, accessible couplets that have the
peculiar ability to stick in your ear for days.
As he gets the growing pains out of the way
with this charming, uneven EP, Drake seems
prone to make a bigger, more rounded splash
with the release of his debut album Thank Me
Later in early 2010. Until then,blast "Best I Ever
Had" on repeat and hope Lil Wayne loosens his
overbearing grip on the emergingstar.
SED ON A TRUE STORY... I
UNFORTUNATELY
I
FROM THE BEST-SELLING BOOK
BY TUCKER MAX
I
IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 25