Review of the Week: Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)

 

Calliope Music Review of the Week

Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)

Neo-Psych Star, Yves Tumor Returns with a Dazzling Display of Sparkly Art Rock Grooves and Bright Post-Punk Tunes.

Kaleidoscopic synths, buzzy guitars and dynamic drumming assist androgynous vocals speak of topics including self-detachment, queer culture, toxic relationships, and all consuming desire.

Following the success of Heaven To A Tortured Mind, Yves Tumor expands their psychedelic rock sound with more drum heavy post-punk inspired developments. 

 

   Keeping a generally upbeat mood, Yves makes use of fast paced bass guitar, rapid punk style drums and dirty electric guitar riffs. This rawer sonic backbone is contrasted with glittering synths and other bright digital effects that act as a chandelier, creating a more produced and shiny soundscape. While this punk direction makes for some darker tones than previous albums, there is a general inconsistency between unprocessed and processed individual tracks, with a lot of the album struggling to blend more nostalgic guitar with more flashy, futuristic effects.

    However, Yves is still able to create an inviting and quite grand environment, fit with their distinct falsetto-like voice and some powerful rock progressions. Praise A Lord is at its strongest when it is able to ride out intense riffs and mix its raw power with its fancier samples and digital decoration. This is seen most prominently on the 6th track of the LP, "Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood." The intro begins with a dramatic looped sample surrounded by electricity sounds effects, before dropping into an incredibly meaty bassline alongside an equally dirty and buzzed out electric guitar progression. After a softer verse backed by reverberated piano, a truly gigantic refrain explodes with pounding kicks and a horn-like synth. The bridge creates tension with some slower acoustic chords before imploding once more into a mind bending crescendo full with boisterous guitar and an array of ambient vocal samples. Although this track and its accomplishments are extremely satisfying, these more exciting moments do not occur frequently throughout the 37 minute long play.

    Lyrically, Yves remains a consistent creative force. While most tracks are left quite vague, it is clear that darker topics muddy up some of the more glamorous sounds heard on this album. Yves talks of desire, love, and the toxicity that comes from misunderstandings within relationships. They also touch on trans and gay iconography with the track, "Lovely Sewer," using a sewer as a purifying gay symbol. The most developed lyrical concept is seen once again, on the track "Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood." Here, the speaker uses samples of children and soaring choruses to confront death and the cycle of life. A boy with no head is used to represent purity of heart, which leads to a love affair between the boy and the narrator, eventually falling apart. This highlights the fleeting nature of love in relationships, and also ties into motifs of lost souls and the nature of God (seen throughout the LP)

    While lyrically consistent, Yves Tumor does present some uncomfortable vocal quirks that chew the ear. Yves' voice is solid and quite good at times, but monotone and choppy flows often interfere with the natural progression of several songs. This is most frustrating on the tracks, "Parody," "Operator," and "Ebony Eye."

In the end, Praise A Lord is still a rather entertaining and thoughtful psychedelic-punk project with some impressive production successes, despite some concept blending and vocal flow irregularities. 

Best Tracks: Meteora Blues -- Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood -- Fear Evil Like Fire

6.5/10

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