Birds sometimes dance

It’s cold now. Really cold. So cold that there’s just one thing that can thoroughly thaw our frozen bodies; ukulele pop. It’s most likely a sound you associate more with summertime, but honestly, don’t we need it more right now?

I’m a bit biased, I have to mention that. I’ve been looking forward to this album for a long time. Yoyoyo Acapulco is among my absolute favorite bands and was basically the entrypoint for me when it comes to both playing the uke and listening to ukulele-based music. They’ve already released three 7″ vinyl records, but haven’t released a full-length album until now. The band’s been touring France a lot lately and the album was recorded in a week in a secret countryside house somewhere in the Pleumeleuc area (hence the album name). Most of the songs are about two minutes long, however there’s also the track “Ok,” clocking in at 11 and a half minutes, giving the finger to everyone who’s trying to put them in a box.

At first glance the album seemed to lack something, it seemed a bit inconsistent and maybe somwhat rushed. Then again, half the songs on the album are slightly different recordings of songs that have already spun oh so many rounds in my record player, something that undoubtedly weakened the first impression of the album as a whole for me. Several rounds later however, I find myself turned around. It’s a feeling I’ve had several times before; what I initially called inconsistent and rushed has revealed itself as a beautiful lo-fi charm that just keeps growing for every listen.

The album is packed with brilliant ukulele pop, both the straight-forward, happy and cute kind and some of the more scrawny and mellow kind. Frontman Arne Martin Barlund’s voice isn’t of the kind that would get him to the top in one of those superstar singing competitions and his english pronunciation has its flaws, but to me, that’s exactly what makes it great. It sounds honest, real and organic. Combined with the beautiful ukulele sound and catchy lyrics often describing everyday situations and observations, it’s a sound that’s hard not to love.

With a tiny set of… well, tiny instruments, Yoyoyo Acapulco could easily have given us an monotonous album with a set of songs that are pretty much identical, but they didn’t. They’ve really nailed making an album that is experimental enough to be interesting and still familiar enough to be their own.

- André Lersveen, 02/02/2010