Yeltsin, “The Stranger Machine,” A Closer Walk with Yeltsin (My Horoscope)
Aside from having one of the best sacreligious album titles of all-time, Eugene/Portland trio Yeltsin’s A Closer Walk with Yeltsin has many a fine rock and roll moment. “The Stranger Machine” is one of them. Hinting at Built to Spill influences with tumbling, wiry instrumentation and postmodern nursery rhyme lyrics, Yeltsin blasts jangle-rock about us humans being a strange species. (Originally I thought it was about a machine that produced strangers, as the “The” would imply. But now I think it’s about how weird people are.) My own internal machinery reacts with spasms—I cannot resist bobbing my head to this track. I’m like a dog getting a belly scratch: My body pretty much gives in to the Yeltsin. A closer walk with Yeltsin I could not take.
Download audio file (strangermachine.mp3)
Yeltsin plays Friday at Kelly’s Olympian with ‘06 Best New Band finalist Tractor Operator.
Links:
YeltsinSpace
Photo courtesy of YeltsinSpace
Ben Meyercord
says:Yeah. I just heard about them the other day. That Friday show is their cd release party (or at least one of them). It is too bad there are so many shows going on Friday. I want to see them , but I’m not sure I can.
Posted @ April 22nd, 2008 at 9:02 am (April 21st, 2008) | Flag this Comment | permalinkUncle Whaley
says:Sweet melody,(the ooh-waaa thing, nice touch)solid vocals, strong bass & drums,and a real Ju-jitsu lead-guitar riff!!! All around finger snappin’, head boppin’, foot stompin’ type a tune, a movin’ groove so to speak… P.S. are those nike skate-boarder tennies’ you’re profilin’??? Straight Up-town, man!!!
Posted @ April 24th, 2008 at 1:37 pm (April 21st, 2008) | Flag this Comment | permalink