I’ve noticed a consistent theme in much of Brooklyn’s music over the last decade. A rediscovery of ritual, where the music is meant to be understood as an event in and of itself. No external references or signposts needed. Bands like Animal Collective, Yeasayer and Tanlines have adopted this minimal, repetitive style as their own, reducing an internet’s worth of ideas to a tribal, almost religious "primalism."
Brooklyn’s Yvette channel this tradition, but they do it like badasses, carving out their tribal energy with religious devotion and knife-like intensity. Their debut self-titled EP is a primal meditation without all the psychedelic trappings. Making no apologies to analog originalists, their construction of LOUD, grinding, sawtooth synths is all digital; which works well for them. Yvette’s approach is so immediate, I doubt anyone will mind how they’ve built their saturated, washy textures. The same can be said of their vocal chants. Most of the time when duo Noah and Rick are singing, you really can’t make out any of the lyrics, but really… what does it matter? The way the earsplitting drums, laptops and vocals are thrown into the fire, the need for narrative detail is entirely discarded. The four songs on their EP weave an intense journey without using verses, hooks, or even chord changes to tell it, trading in these usual placeholders for a deeper sense of continuity… one droney shout at a time. In a town blanketed in beach bands, Yvette is a much needed wake-up call. Stream and purchase all tracks on their ">bandcamp, and see them play live as part of the Deli’s NYC Best of Emerging Artist Fest next Wednesday, May 25 at Glasslands. – Mike Levine