YACHT – Shangri-La (2011) [DFA] // Grade: C

An album like Yacht’s Shangri-La forces one to question their own experience. As a teenager in the 1980s, this reviewer was equally as fond of the sounds of Burt Bacharach as he was Captain Beefheart. With the added element of age, the schmaltzy syrup of Burt seemed an inviting diametric to the free jazzaesthetics of Van Vilet. Somehow, it never even mattered that Bacharach’s music represented just about everything that Beefheart was railing against.

Yachts seems like a  take the 1980’s with a similar lack of scene politics. Their sound seems to mix a no wave dissonance with the sounds of polished, MTV-ready art rock a la post Speaking in Tongues Talking Heads. Geeky and dancey, this duo from Portland are more reminiscent of They Might Be Giants than Chris and Cosey, which is an oddity in today’s uber-hip conscious climate. The question is, is this refreshing? There is a reason that a band like Chris and Cosey is hipster savvy and TMBG really isn’t. To put it blunt, nerd rock often seems fun at first, but it is a novelty that ultimately wears thin.

Shangri-La is no exception. As kitschy as it is catchy, it lacks any type of staying power. There is bound to be a magazine cover in the near future for the couple; who’s stylist has worked overtime to cast them in the roles of “Cool Places” Wiedlin/Mael, but there just isn’t enough hear to make the history books. There are the word games of “One Step” which reads like an Ogden Nash poem set to B-52’s Karaoke and the off electro country of “Dystopia,” which could pass for something out of the indie Athens scene circa ’86. Unfortunately, there’s the almost cruelly unhip title track, that could pass for a Sheryl Crow outtake. Therein lies the problem, DFA’s foray into the world of shallow pop ultimately lacks any depth to make it matter.

- Nattymari