|
It’s the little things that kill with Austin’s Yellow Fever. The infectious pop trio’s toxic combination of minimal arrangements and vocal harmonies leaves listeners experiencing various degrees of euphoria. Guitarist Jennifer Moore, who also performs in the 60’s-inspired girl group Carrots, the Pinecombs, and Voxtrot, and bassist Isabel Martin, formerly of Teenage Dog, come across like the daughters of the Mommas and the Pappas, free-spirited sisters who spent their teenage years singing together in front of bathroom mirrors while holding hairdryers and combs. Their vocals are, in fact, their most effective and inviting instrument. So effective that little else about the group’s self-titled limited-edition EP (81/240), which was recorded and mixed at the home of drummer Adam Jones, who used to handle percussion for Basic and Care Bear Crew, seems to matter.
Starting at the end, “iMac” spins a humorous tale about the tragic end of a friend’s laptop – all vocals, no guitar. Like the majority of Yellow Fever, it’s simple and sweet, the lo-fi atmosphere accenting the sincerity and charm. “Ratcatcher” and “Cutest” keeps things equally quirky and quick, wrapping things up nicely well before the two-minute mark. The trio’s mellow yellow works especially well with their flower power ode to British songsmith “Donovan,” melding his generation’s folk with that of K Records two decades later. “Psychedelic” doubles up on the guitars, not that that makes things any louder or more complicated, but it appropriately matches the song’s refrain, “Why won’t you recognize how psychedelic I am and love me?” “Alice,” undoubtedly the album’s strongest song, hints at the band’s possibilities. It daringly treks almost to the three-minute mark and makes an uncharacteristic, yet compelling, change in pace for the song’s rousing climax. In order for Yellow Fever to succeed as more than a one-off project, or within the context of a full-length record, the trio is going to have to take more chances in order to combat the tolerance and immunity listeners develop towards their lethal vocal displays.
Mp3 from Yellow Fever:
Alice
Website:
Myspace
