In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel compelled to disclose that this will be a heavily lopsided analysis of Shangri-La, the new album from electro-dance poppers, YACHT headed up by Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans. Whenever I attempt one of these things, I endeavour to give an equal amount of time examining an album's aesthetics, concept, writing, etc. In this case however I am undoubtedly incapable of achieving such balance. The story that is told in Shangri-La, as communicated by a cinematic style narrative and brimming with a plethora of amazing one liners, is too interesting and successful not to give most of my attention to when writing this. Yes I will give some mention to how it sounds (really good, thanks!) but the main body of this will be reserved for plunging the depths of Shangri-La and trying to absorb the story it tells.
But first- I find it worth mentioning that both Bechtolt and Evans' voices has progressed notably since See Mystery Lights. It can be at times difficult to discern which of the two is singing as the both tend to revel in their slight androgyny, and they often perform in tandem. They definitely run along the same trajectory, however certain vocal inflections have been dialled up to be more noticeable. The cocky swagger, the dismissive antagonism, the slightly irritable staccato are all more discernible this time around, and it makes the album better for it. In contrast however some of the experimental approaches to sound and music have been dialled back here. The types of music created are a little more linear and straightforward, a little less expansive than the last album. This is not terribly surprising as See Mystery Lights was as ambitiously diverse as it could get without crossing over into nonsensical batshit insane. Rather then spreading the instrumentation out in a vast space if stimuli, all of the beats and sounds are more tightly coiled together and focused, seeming more dense and moving at a faster pace. This more controlled and tempered sound seems necessary to effectively carry the albums narrative forward logically. This is not to say that Shangri-La sounds too traditional or boring- far from it. The slurring bass line that scuttles forward at a propulsive rate, mixing together with the tropical melody in “Utopia” sounds amazing. The tremor inducing synth notes that erupt throughout “Dystopia” are brilliant. I love the menacing and macabre key boards that sloth forward in a dizzying almost roundabout way in “Love in the Dark”. There are many overt and well placed musical cues and aesthetics taken from the DFA coda. The coarse rapid fire hum of high octave punk guitar interspersed with a more elegant and regal sounding piano beat in “I Walked Alone” come to mind. There's something I love about DFA albums, that while they sound so refreshingly distinct, they strive to share a semblance of musical DNA. However, as is always the case with YACHT, its the vocals that tend to be the most dramatic and interesting instrumentation.
