Wednesday, August 31, 2011

You, Me and Everyone We know - Things Are Really Weird Right Now


It feels a little awkward to review a release by a band who is currently on an indefinite hiatus. It also feels a little weird to review a band that I only know exists due to my old roommate being really into them. She always played some sort of overly poppy music like all day long, and my response to almost every band would follow the same steps:


  1. "God, this is annoying as hell."
  2. "Oh, this band again? Ugh."
  3. *sarcastically singing along*
  4. Songs all get stuck in my head.
  5. "They're alright."
(And in case of The Wonder Years and Fall Out Boy)

     6. "I love this band!"

So yeah, I've learned to not entirely trust my taste in music...and it's been working out a lot better for me. I don't have to be some elitist pop punk ass who thinks if something doesn't bear at least some resemblance to Descendents or Screeching Weasel it isn't worth a damn. You, Me, and Everyone We Know bears roughly zero resemblance to either of those bands. But, they do bear resemblance to other bands I've enjoyed in the past, namely fun., Motion City Soundtrack, and Panic at the Disco. I should probably mention right away that I really dig YMaEWK's new EP 'Things Are Really Weird Right Now', despite how annoying it is to abbreviate their band name. They're poppy, annoying, full of itself, and just as equally infectious and fun! My friend mentioned yesterday that the songs with the most annoying melodies are always the ones that get stuck in your head, and that's definitely true. "Syke! Life is Awesome!" by Bomb the Music Industry, "Linger" by The Cranberries, and "Us" by Regina Spektor. I love the first and third of these songs, but regardless they all get stuck in my head for a year at a time. This is kind of what YMaWEK do to a fellow. I don't think the songs on this EP are planning on vacating my thinking-dome anytime soon. Fuck.

I'm a sucker for lyricism, and a sucker for singers that sound like Joe from This Is My Suitcase, that's also why I like Tariq from Church & Chambers' voice so much. YMaWEK deliver some tight lyricism throughout this EP, and it's all belted out by over-confident sounding (for all the right reasons) vocalist Ben Liebsch. Oh, also, the first song on 'Things Are Really Weird Right Now' has that annoying vocal melody thing I was talking about. During parts of the songs the line, "bwah bwah bwah bwah bwahhhh" is sung high pitched and annoyingly. It's so catchy that it has to be breaking some sort of law. What's cool though, is that this song is followed by a rad acoustic number that's just short of two minutes long. Short songs are my favorite, and definitely pander to my short attention span when it comes to music. I could never get into Metallica as a kid because I'd sit there with my dad's Walkman and wait about 5 minutes for the vocals to start and it would never happen. I like when songs get to the point and then get out of my way. I'm kind of dumb like that.

This album is four songs long, and that's about the perfect length for it. EP's are my favorite releases because I can switch between bands so often. I mean, the only time this is an issue is when you're spinning 7"s, because then you have to get up every few minutes to change records. Liz Prince has expressed this issue in a better way than I could ever hope to:


But yeah, if someone were to for some reason approach me on the street or at a show and ask me what I thought about the new You, Me, and Everyone We Know album, I'd actually be able to give them a response at this point in time. I mean, last year I would've just had no clue what they were talking about or why they were talking to me about it. But now I can say that I think it's a fun little record full of catchy songs and interesting musical arrangements and fancy schmancy lyrics. I'd also say you can stream it for free at Top Shelf Records' bandcamp page. And I'd also tell them that I should probably just post this review and go get some breakfast in me. So there.

-Idle

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