Monday, January 3, 2011

Don't Miss: Yellow Ostrich

Apparently Wisconsin is a really cool, creative place. I didn't particularly feel that way when I lived there, I mostly felt hung-over and cold. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that I have had the good fortune to stumble across Wisconsin's Alex Schaaf, a.k.a Yellow Ostrich. I first heard them live on KEXP while lying in bed listening to John in the morning. The thing that struck me about Yellow Ostrich was not the sound they are creating, but the sounds they are not creating. The minimalist, stripped down harmonies backed by a little drum and even less guitar sounds refreshing in the sea of lo-fi noisy garage rock that seems to be sweeping Brooklyn. The band consists of two people, Schaff building vocal harmonies with precise looping and a little bit of guitar and Michael Tapper of Bishop Allen and We Are Scientist on drums. So it's a new year, and i think we could all use some new music, and what better way to start than by checking Yellow Ostrich out at Mercury Lounge tomorrow, Tuesday January 4th. Check out the live KEXP show here and get your hands on some of Schaaf's many, many EP's at Bandcamp.