IN 2007, YEASAYER'S debut, "All Hour Cymbals," sounded like the end credits for some lost teen apocalypse movie from the '80s, like "Night of the Comet" or "Dead-End Drive-In."
Often dismissed as second-tier indie innovators bridging the hackeysack and ironic T-shirt sets, the Baltimore band were perhaps not as gutsy as Animal Collective nor as catchy as Vampire Weekend, but its organic synthesis of Afro-pop guitars, tribal percussion, catchy hooks and especially that cinematic sweep distinguished the ensemble from its peers and has made their follow-up one of the most anticipated releases of 2010.
"Odd Blood" doesn't lose that theatrical flair, but it does clear away some of the cobwebs that cluttered Yeasayer's debut. Instead of the DIY world music of "All Hour Cymbal," Yeasayer creates a shinier, spacier amalgam of postpunk synth effects and hippie noodling that only occasionally elevates what is the album's worst trait: clunky lyrics.
"Now the world can be an unfair place at times," sings Chris Keating on "Ambling Alp," "but your lows will have their complement of highs." This is some serious Lifetime movie uplift, and the chorus is especially egregious: "Stick up for yourself, son / Never mind what anybody else done." But the song is a burst of sneaky reggae rhythms, glassy New Wave textures, and expressive vocals that are all bracing enough to compensate for the songwriting, even to suggest that generosity of spirit, no matter how awkwardly expressed, is their greatest attributes.
BESIDES THE MANY festivals we in the Washington area are blessed with, our local silver screens will be bristling with individual gems. Sobering times, apparently, call for nonfiction, so expect a passel of earnest documentaries. But there's also action, animation and fictional crime to take us into the warm weather.
'NORTH FACE': CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN, OR ELSE
Mountains and Nazis? While it's based on a true story, this ain't "The Sound of Music." Two German climbers are "persuaded" by Nazi propagandists in 1936 to scale the impassable north face of the Eiger (of "Eiger Sanction" fame). It doesn't go well.
» Avalon, 5612 Connecticut Ave., NW; opens Feb. 26, $10.50; 202-966-6000.
'THE RED SHOES': ARCHERS AND ARCHES
Brit auteurs the Archers (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger) were already on the mark (sorry) with "Black Narcissus" when they hit the bull's-eye (sorry!) with this 1948 ballet-within-a-ballet tale. UCLA archivists spent three years restoring it with funding from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Nice to know the Golden Globes are good for something.
» National Gallery of Art, 4th Street & Constitution Avenue NW; March 14, 4:30 p.m., free; 202-842-6799. (Archives-Navy Memorial)
ONGOING: You know John Waters as the pencil-mustachioed director behind "Hairspray." Well, surprise, surprise, the weird and kitschy filmmaker is responsible for a weird and kitschy photography exhibit called "Versailles," named for the Baltimore neighborhood he's documented.
» C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 North Charles St., Baltimore; through Feb. 27, free; 410-539-1080.
Photo by David S. Holloway/Getty Images
THIS WEEK: If you're addicted to Restaurant Week, you should probably get into some sort of food rehab where they scream "Just because it's cheap doesn't mean you have to go!" into your face a couple of thousand times until you lose your appetite. Or you could just continue your binge with Baltimore Restaurant Week. We recommend Afghan gem Helmand.
» Various locations, through Feb. 7, $20.10 for lunch or $35.10 for dinner; Baltimorerestaurantweek.com.
Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/The Washington Post
SATURDAY: For Washingtonians, it's a road trip; for everyone, it's a mind trip, a no-drugs-needed dive into a mind-bending, genre-challenging parallel universe of sonic possibility. This year's Aural States Fest II is most likely the last one to be held in Baltimore, and possibly the last one, period. The strange angels of music that's difficult, experimental and extreme include Pontiak, Vincent Black Shadow, Benjy Ferree, Sick Sick Birds, Caleb Stine and the new project by J Robbins (of Jawbox), the Office of Future Plans. Show up early with pre-bought tickets and get a grab bag of goodies.
» Sonar, 407 E. Saratoga St., Baltimore, Md.; Sat., Jan. 30, 7 p.m., $15-$20; auralstates.com.
Photo courtesy Pontiak
ONGOING: Journey to the horn of Africa by way of Baltimore this weekend as the Walters Art Museum hosts "Oh, Ethiopia" on Saturday and Sunday. Part of the museum's weekly family-friendly Drop-In Art program, this is a fun-filled, creation-facilitating chance for the little ones to deal in crafts such as painting massive parade banners and making collages of art inspired by Ethiopian food.
» Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Baltimore, Md.; every Sat. and Sun. through Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free; 410-547-9000.
THIS WEEK: This is "last chance week" for a lot of area art exhibits — the new year will soon sweep in with all sorts of new and exciting gallery openings, but for now you should try to see everything you haven't gotten around to yet.
Make sure you don't miss "Matisse as Printmaker" in Baltimore. It'll introduce you to a new side of the artist's work.
» Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore; through Jan. 3, free; 443-573-1700.
Photo courtesy Succession H
SATURDAY: Head on up to Baltimore for "Trixie Little & the Evil Hate Monkey's 5th Annual Holiday Spectac-u-thon." This cheeky show features our own burlesque queen Trixie Little with her sidekick, and former Miss Exotic World Michelle L'Amour, who blew in from the Windy City just to give us a thrill.
» Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.; Sat., Dec. 19, 7 & 10 p.m., $18; 410-276-1651.
Photo courtesy Creative Alliance
POST-HARDCORE BAND Thursday may not have put out any singles from its critically acclaimed release, "Common Existence," but that's not because the band doesn't think the album is any good.
Lead singer Geoff Rickly says the group just didn't feel like it.
"It just sort of happened, I guess," Rickly says of the decision. "I guess we just thought we'd do things more naturally this time around — just go out and play on this record."
And for the band, which has gathered legions of fans with its mix of sonic spitfire and sprawl — seen in singles like "Understanding in a Car Crash" and "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" — doing things organically has always seemed right. It's the kind of mentality that has caused Thursday to join up with numerous record labels until settling at Epitaph, and that now has them on tour with the Dillinger Escape Plan, who the group will appear with Dec. 15 at the Ottobar in Baltimore.
Rickly spoke with Express about what inspired him for this album, what fans should expect from his group's live show and how he's been surprised by this tour.
RUNNERS CAN AIM TO race a marathon. Soccer players can train to win the league championship. And yogis' ultimate objective is usually spiritual fulfillment. But that doesn't come with medals — unless they're posing at a yoga competition, such as the Mid-Atlantic Regionals this Sunday at Bikram Yoga Baltimore ($10-$15, 3 p.m., 40 Cranbrook Road, Cockeysville, Md., 410-683-9642).
It's still a relatively new concept, and one that many practitioners of yoga may find contradictory. Don't your teachers always tell you yoga isn't competitive? But yoga championships are common abroad, and USA Yoga (Usayoga.org) is helping raise the sport's profile here.
Because the judging is based on a series of seven asanas (postures) while demonstrating balance, strength, flexibility, timing and breathing — and not other elements associated with yoga, such as the ability to meditate — it's not so far off from familiar sports.
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