Since 2011 when their fifth studio album, “Shangri-La,” was released, YACHT from Portland, Ore., has been talking about releasing a sixth. Fans everywhere have been buzzing with expectations of what the release of “I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler” would bring.
While the album has many redeeming qualities, the high level of excitement for this album has culminated in a generally anticlimactic — and even slightly disappointing — outcome. That’s not to say all of the enthusiasm has amounted to total sorrow; however, the hodge-podge of sounds and styles borrowed for this album are below the bar that YACHT has set in the past.
After taking their longest break yet between studio albums, Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans have maintained many traditional, distinctly YACHT tones within their new album. Electro-punk sounds, great synth vibes, political questions and criticisms in blunt lyrics (heard in this album’s “War on Women”), and the silly and unique qualities of Evans’ voice still remain in the band’s sound.
While there were some songs that reminded me of the old YACHT I know and love, the best songs on the album were ones that were strikingly dissimilar from before. The songs that incorporated surf, grunge, rock tones, and strong bass were the ones that caught my interest over those with more intense electronic tonalities.
YACHT is famous for their usage of highly processed synths, and previously I loved it. But there was something disorganized and half-assed about their use of electronic reverberations here.
Starting off strong, “Miles & Miles” doesn’t delve too deep into the electronic genre, while still maintaining the integrity of what YACHT stands for: making a great album introduction. Strongly reminiscent of “Dystopia” and “Shangri-La,” the song pumps listeners up for what should follow, but unfortunately, the tail-end of the album doesn’t quite live up to the energy presented at the beginning.
For the first five songs, Bechtolt and Evans do a great job of sarcastically poking fun at the pseudo-futuristic society we live in. The fifth song happens to be their single, “I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler,” which was released back in August. The song remains one of my favorites on the album, which could be why there is such a strong decline after this song ends. While their music successfully takes on a futuristic sound, the last half of the album falls short of being auditorily appealing.
“Hologram” lacks substance and produces a sound similar to how I imagine it would sound to be trapped in a giant pinball machine. “I Wanna F--k You Till I’m Dead” is also harsh on the ears, and it ushers me back to bad “Owl City” vibes from eighth grade.
Being a huge YACHT fan, I can relate to the dismay brought on by this album. YACHT’s original albums were some of the first to bring ’80s synthpop back to the 21st century, which is something to appreciate.
They were also one of the first performances on National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concert, proving they were versatile and able to make their electronica music more low-key in an intimate environment. I recognize this is not an easy task and definitely an impressive feat, so I still have my heart set on seeing them live when they come to Seattle later this month.
I revere this album for its satirical commentary on what it means to be part of the “futuristic” idiocracy in which we currently live, but I do wish that my expectations had been met with more attention to the second half of the album.
The verdict: This album is worth the listen, but take the latter songs with a grain of futuristic salt.
Reach writer Rebecca Gross at arts@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @becsgross
