YELLOW CREATURES

A couple of months ago, when I talked to Yellow Creatures frontman Marc Bird about their upcoming single and B-side, we had a long chat about guitar bands who bring out the synthesizers to add some extra spice to their work. In amongst the influence of Broadcast and Wavves, Bird also referenced the most recent album by St. Vincent as an influence on their “new direction.”

The term “new direction” might send shivers up the spines of hardcore Yellow Creatures fans who fell in love with their intricate, guitar-driven sound that was all but mastered on their 2014 EP release The Year of Everything and Nothing, however yes, they really were picking up the Nords for their next outing, a taster of their upcoming album.

So here it is: Yellow Creatures‘ new, synthier direction.

Don’t worry though – they haven’t completely lost the post-punk jangly guitar edge that made their previous works so musically engaging. Indeed, the synths on Calendar Man – while clearly audible – don’t overshadow what the band have built their strong reputation on and simply add an extra string to their already impressive bow. Calendar Man, the story of a disgruntled weatherman who slowly goes insane as he fails to achieve his dreams, still contains melodic post-punk guitars reminiscent of Television while adding a few flourishes from the golden age of synthpop (the eighties, the Creatures’ favorite musical decade). If it’s an indication of the quality of their upcoming LP as a whole, then Calendar Man shows us that we’re in for a treat.

Words by Eugenie Johnson

Tip by Bob Allan