If By Yes - LA RecordIf By Yes is a transcontinental collaboration between vocalist/violinist/triplet Petra Haden and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto and the recently reformed Plastic Ono Band. Haden’s melismatic trembles swirl amid a symphony of pulpy bass, electronics and subtly pulsing dance beats nimbly produced by Honda. Together they have created an album of effortless movement where the vocals ride like a sedate passenger on a high-speed train – spidery guitar lines and shifting keyboards fly by like small towns, each with their own characters and conflicts, appearing and disappearing just as quickly. Amid the ethereal charm David Byrne sings a few choruses and Nels Cline drops in with his banshee-ax to make inimitable waves. The rest of the instrumental work is done by members of pop maestro Cornelius’ band: Yuko Araki on drums and Hirotaka “Shimmy” Shimizu on guitar. The result is exactly what one might expect from all those musicians in cahoots: pop structures wrapped in velvet reverb, snug multi-layered vocals and space-lounge gauze.
LA Record Issue 103
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