I’d like to describe All Tomorrow’s Party as the Japanese version of Yo La Tengo, but that wouldn’t quite do it. Even at their most dissonant, this album is perfect. Their twelve-song album, Yoo Doo Right, Yoo Doo Slide starts off with a six minute and eighteen second acid-trip appropriately called “Sympathy for the Junkie.” This track, with it’s insistent bass line and echo-box guitar riff put me definitely in mind of Yo La Tengo, The Ocean Blue, or even The Mermen. This track is so mellow and so groovy that as soon as it ended, the next track came on loud and hard.
“Love Can Bring You Down” -- the second track on this CD goes heavy on fuzz guitar and a solid drumbeat that drives this song home. There is something about the chord progressions in this song that makes me think of the Police, circa Regatta de Blanc, but not as polished, though this song is certainly perfect in it’s imperfection.
“Light of Love” takes on a Jet feel with a driving punk progression and screaming vocals that make me think of Volkswagen commercials.
Track six, “Cracked,” gets back into the same groove as the first song with this slow, deep, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds vibe.
Track seven, “Juliette” kicks ass. Just as I think I know where they’re going, they pull off some sick, American Analog Set/James Taylor-style acoustic track that I can’t stop humming along with.
Yoo Doo... is a CD that demands to be listened to more than once. It’s simple enough to get into from the first track, yet deep enough that I’m still trying to figure it all out and enjoying the ride.
