Yeti Lane - "Twice": SXSW 2011 Showcasing Artist

After the acclaim that was heaped on their debut album earlier this year, Parisian psych-poppers Yeti Lane return with the 'Twice' EP. It features a re-recording of the title-track (a remix of which was recently premiered on Pitchfork) alongside three new songs.
In many ways the EP represents a new beginning for the band, because they are now recording and playing live as a duo. But rather than lose their focus following the amicable departure of LoAc Carron, remaining members Ben Pleng (vocals, guitar, synths) and Charlie Boyer (drums, percussion, synths) immediately returned to the studio.
It was the perfect thing to do, because here they sound reinvigorated. The polite and polished indie-pop of the album is roughed up and stretched out with bubbling analogue synths and crunching guitars. In fact Ben's guitar playing on the EP is positively mercurial, ranging from plaintive Michael Rother-esque drones to wild wah-wah reminiscent of the late, great Eddie Hazel. Sometimes, as is the case on 'Floating', in the space of one song.
That's not to say they've forgotten the melancholy melodies which made them so adorable in the first place: 'Speed Me Up' is a slightly out-of-focus indie-pop gem. But it's the closer 'Wave' which might just prove to be the key track; it starts like something from 'Neu! '75', touches on Kraftwerk's 'Neon Lights' and then builds to a tsunami of a climax unlike anything you've ever heard. It's stunning and hints that Yeti Lane's second album will be a masterpiece.

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