Way Yes To Release NEW EP Walkability January 25th: RIYL Dirty Projectors, Beat Happening, Fela Kuti
Way Yes are as prolific as promised. After releasing Herringbone late last year, remixing Computer Magic, and keeping their spear sharp, the guys are greeting up to drop another EP, Walkability. Herringbone was great of course, but Walkability is something else entirely. The band grew up fast – more candid lyricism, tighter sound, wider sonic palette. Way Yes leans more heavily on psychedelia than dance floor-ready bangers this go ’round. This is really really good, and you can preview some of the new songs at the link below.
Way Yes – Walkability [release date January 25th 2011]
RIYL: Dirty Projectors, Fela Kuti, Animal Collective
Way Yes hail from the terribly underrated art epicenter of Columbus, Ohio; an insular community whose chief export is skewed and distorted versions of music you think you’ve heard before, yet haven’t – much like new species of animals that evolve on Madagascar or Tazmania. Way Yes is an exemplary result.
After years of banging keyboards in various humorously titled projects, Hall and Davis formed the group that is paradoxically their most serious and playful. Their first recorded statement, Herringbone, was a breezy and uplifting affair – amalgamating the joyous afrobeat of originator Fela Kuti and the Soukous vibes of Nico Kasanda with the quirk of Beat Happening and the light psychedelic flourishes and childhood naivety of Animal Collective. However, Way Yes are quite deceptive songwriters, and the demonstrate their prowess on all cylinders with their new EP – Walkability.
Hiding heavy lyrical content under the positive tropical vibes, Walkability addresses everything from death of loved ones to the existential crises of the daily grind to the cereal box prizes. Additionally, the five songs of Walkability make masterful use of sonic space, keeping the instrumentation sparse and the reverb heavy to provide a deceivingly introspective experience against the layered dance rhythms. While myriad themes and emotions lie under the service of Way Yes, their primary directive was certainly accomplished – a sonically diverse windows-down, exuberant listening experience. As Travis explains “I think we both like to keep music ‘light’ if that makes sense. I like the juxtaposition of darker subject matter with more uplifting/breezy music. We just want the music to naturally make people feel good.” Walkability is a declaration of a young band masterfully and rapidly maturing.
