Yoo Doo Right, From the Heights of Our Pastureland: REVIEW

Yoo Doo Right, From the Heights of Our Pastureland (Mothland)

Though the Montreal post-krautrock three-piece Yoo Doo Right does offer many similar, sprawling soundscapes across their repertoire, there’s always some strange, malignant force that keeps me glued — as if my attention is being held like Alex’s eyes in A Clockwork Orange as he’s forced to watch scenes of ultraviolence. Much of Yoo Doo Right’s work is all about the thematic build, and that’s never been as evident as on their new, third album. 

During the track “Spirit’s Heavy, But Not Overthrown, Part 2,” it’s almost like waiting for the drop during a DJ set. The anticipation evolves over minutes until Justin Cober, the band’s guitarist/vocalist/synth player, gives a rare vocal mantra and we’re subject to one of the heaviest, distorted outros in the band’s career. The drums absolutely batter your eardrums under a thick blanket of bass guitar and whirring synth/guitar work in the follow-up track, “Eager Glacier,” giving way to another euphoric crescendo of sonorous propulsion.

The intro to “Ponders End,” with its darkened instrumental surf appeal, might be the newest sound for the Yoo Doo Right boys, but it slowly descends into the kind of madness that feels like watching a storm decimate an abandoned barn. The synth-led “Lost in the Overcast” is a lethargic and reverb-heavy reprieve until the finale, the album’s title track, plunges us back into the chaos. Yoo Doo Right has crushed it, again. 10/10 Trial Track “Spirit’s Heavy, But Not Overthrown, Part 2”

For more on Yoo Doo Right, please visit their website.

---

For our latest in music, please visit the Music section.