Odd Blood

Yeasayer's acclaimed debut studio album, All Hour Cymbals, was released in 2007 by independent label We Are Free.[1] The band followed its success by co-headlining a tour with synthpop duo MGMT and by part-producing and playing bass guitar on Bat for Lashes' Two Suns, a dream pop record released in 2009.[2] The same year, a new Yeasayer track, "Tightrope", was used in Red Hot Organization's Dark Was the Night compilation in support of HIV/AIDS sufferers,[3] while vocalist and keyboardist Chris Keating sang and co-wrote Simian Mobile Disco's single "Audacity of Huge", from the band's electronic record Temporary Pleasure.[2]

Backed by a new good-sized independent label, Secretly Canadian, and a bigger recording budget,[4] Yeasayer started work on a second studio album in February 2009.[5] The band traveled to Woodstock in upstate New York and rented the country home of percussionist Jerry Marotta,[1] converted into Jersville Studio. Keating was joined by guitarist and keyboardist Anand Wilder, bassist Ira Wolf Tuton, and engineer Steve Revitte, but not All Hour Cymbals drummer Luke Fasano.[6] According to a Rolling Stone article, Odd Blood was inspired by a trip to New Zealand, where Yeasayer experimented with LSD.[7] Keating has jokingly pointed out that the aim was to "sonically challenge Rihanna in the clubs", with an emphasis on bass, while Wilder has said that the band tried to make "a poppier album".[8]

Yeasayer wanted a recording place close to Brooklyn, but removed from it. The band members aimed to streamline their songwriting processes by only doing what things were necessary in whatever parts without embellishing with long songs. According to Revitte, nobody was "married to anything" and minute things like vocal lines were recorded and rerecorded until done right. Sometimes whole sections were redone from scratch. The engineer also helped the band with advice about what other groups their evolving work sounded like. Yeasayer created music in the context of thinking about the music they liked, including interesting works from contemporaries. The aim was to craft pop songs unapologetically and embrace the genre as much as possible. Wilder has noted that Keating singing lead vocals gives songs an added extra as he has "a true pop voice", while he and Tuton do not.[10]

Yeasayer on stage with auxiliary percussionists Jason Trammell and Ahmed Gallab at the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas

After the Woodstock sessions, Yeasayer undertook a summer 2009 US tour.[11] On October 30, the band made a new track, "Ambling Alp", available for free online streaming and confirmed the Odd Blood track list and release details for 2010.[12] On November 3, 2009, Yeasayer previewed material from the album at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, while "Ambling Alp" was released as a promotional single digitally and on a limited 12" vinyl edition.[13] Odd Blood tracks were also previewed at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas, on November 7.[12] Acknowledging the full album's Internet leak, Yeasayer posted a Twitter status on December 10 that read "Presents are always spoiled for those who open them before they are supposed to".[14] The cover art for Odd Blood was revealed the following day, a stylized bust design by artist Benjamin Phelan based on the vision of "a future with a distorted biology";[15] the chest portion is "sculpted from virtual clay" with a force feedback motion-capture device.[16] The back cover features another Phelan work, a human head with no features apart from two computer nodes as eyes,[15] while the gatefold sleeve and the inserted booklet and CD contain other designs and light sculpture photographs from the artist.[6]

On January 15–16, Odd Blood preview listening parties were organized across selected US independent record stores, where promotional vinyl copies could be purchased.[17] "O.N.E.", the second single from the album, become available for free download on January 27, 2010, with an official March 23 release as a single also announced.[18] The first pre-orders of Odd Blood were taken on January 29, which included a free exclusive package of a "die cut pin and shirt". On February 2, the album was posted in its entirety as a stream on Yeasayer's MySpace page,[14] while the band's February 5 concert at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles was webcast live.[19] Odd Blood was released in Europe through Mute Records on February 8, and a day later in North America by Secretly Canadian;[18] the album's mail distribution in the latter region was delayed by a blizzard.[14] The name was chosen after the band had a brainstorming session, where Keating wanted a strong title like Blood while Wilder aimed for something more offbeat like Coca-Cola or The King of Queens.[10] Yeasayer followed the album's release with an extensive tour of Europe and North America until November 2010.[20]

As of 2012, sales in the United States have exceeded 80,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[21]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[23]
Metacritic	78/100[24]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[25]
The A.V. Club	A−[26]
Chicago Tribune	[4]
The Guardian	[27]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
NME	8/10[2]
Pitchfork	6.1/10[3]
Q	[28]
Rolling Stone	[29]
Spin	8/10[30]

Media response to Odd Blood was generally favorable; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalized rating of 78 out of 100 based on 36 critical reviews.[24] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune described Yeasayer's new material as a consolidation of the work on All Hour Cymbals into "a series of shapely pop songs"; he stated, "The album aims for pleasure rather than introspection, and most of the time, it hits the mark."[4] Summing it up as "both odd and bloody marvelous", Will Dean of The Guardian labeled Odd Blood "a masterclass in modern, multicultural, weirdo pop music".[27] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone commented that, like fellow Brooklyn bands Dirty Projectors and Animal Collective, Yeasayer are "pioneers of a scene that refuses to choose between a sense of experimental adventure and pure pop pleasure",[29] while AllMusic's Andrew Leahey noted that the record is "a thinking man's album, one that requires its listeners to put on their thinking caps as well as their dancing shoes".[25] Zach Schonfeld of PopMatters praised the album's "jungle-dense beats and rainbow synths" and wrote that Yeasayer "avoided the sophomore slump the only way they know how: by fearlessly dismantling everything that made their debut a safe bet."[31] Josh Modell of Spin concluded, "So, two exciting questions: Where did this come from, and what's coming next?"[30]

Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times stated that Odd Blood "ultimately reveals that beneath all the weird sounds, tribal harmonies and otherworldly textures, Yeasayer are still a bunch of indie-rock sentimentalists",[7] while Tim Chester of NME wrote that the album is "a musical package holiday you can take vicariously".[2] Although conceding that it "should appeal to a lot of people", Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef was less receptive and suggested that the "overfed production and search for direction" often lead to "a bit too much of not enough".[3] Amanda Farah of Clash explained that Odd Blood is "an unabashed pop record that anyone should be proud to play at full volume",[32] while Paul Terefenko of NOW concluded, "Who'd have thought the psych-folk pile, already teetering on the brink of over-saturation, would peak with Yeasayer's second album?"[33] Odd Blood figured highly in several end-of-year best album lists for 2010, notably, at number five by American Songwriter, at number eight by Time and by Drowned in Sound, at number nine by One Thirty BPM,[34] at number 11 by Under the Radar,[35] at number 12 by Spin,[36] at number 14 by The Guardian,[37] and at number 15 by NME and Q.[38][39] In October 2011, NME placed "O.N.E" at number 90 on its list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[40]

All songs written and composed by Yeasayer.

Those involved in the making of Odd Blood are:[6][25]