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Written
by Shannon Cowden, posted by blog admin
Yam
Haus’ Stargazer begins with its
powerful title track and it serves notice that the young Minneapolis based
outfit means business. The pulsing synthesizer opening “Stargazer” soon
transitions into sharply crafted verses driven by jagged bright guitar and
straight ahead percussion. Lead singer Lars Pruitt makes the most from the band’s
flair with a good chorus and helps “Stargazer” reach stratospheric heights. “West
Coast” doesn’t have quite the same panache with a more diffuse chorus, but the
vocal melody keeps things beguiling for listeners and the song has a trademark
unity that makes it a deeply enjoyable listening experience, but the third song
in Stargazer’s opening trio “Kingdom”
brings audiences another indelible chorus and some particularly Eighties
touches thanks to the song’s synthesizer adornments.
It’s
impossible to get away from how well recorded and produced Yam Haus’ debut is. Stargazer highlights a band with a
diverse sound, but the production expertly balances and separates the
instruments in each respective song and renders the band’s musical vision in
high gloss musical Technicolor. The album’s fourth song is well in keeping with
the pop inclinations of the opening trio – “Get Somewhere” has some especially
tasty verses, but the real pay off comes with the song’s chorus and it
undeniably connects with listeners. Yam Haus introduces some piano into “Too
Many People” and the gospel influences rife throughout the tune never strike a
false note and Pruitt responds with a lot of soulfulness. The accompanying
handclaps are another humanizing element of the song moving it away from the
electronic flourishes running through the earlier songs and this more stripped
down, traditional approach rings true.
“Right
Now, Forever” flips the script for anyone listening to every track up to this
point. Yam Haus completely backs away from the template of the previous five
songs in favor of a delicately constructed acoustic performance and Pruitt
adjusts his voice accordingly. It strikes a sharp contrast with its follow up, “You
Need Love (Stargazer Reprise)”, but this reprise veers away from aping the
title track and, instead, develops similar themes in a different musical
fashion. “Bad News” returns them to the familiar ground of pop songwriting
craftsmanship and they deliver again, but the vocal melody is especially
memorable and Pruitt capitalizes on its potential.
They
orchestrate an entertaining, compelling build for the track “Carry Me Home” and
Pruitt delivers a singing performance exploring the full range of his voice’s
dynamic possibilities. His seamless shifting through varying levels of his
register undoubtedly benefits from the presence of recording technology, but
there’s no indication in the recording that Pruitt would struggle reproducing
this in a live setting.
