Thursday, December 6, 2012

YACHT Premiers New Single and Video "Second Summer"


Indie electropop band YACHT released a new stand-alone single and video for “Second Summer” today.  It's almost exactly one year ago that I covered their show in New York City for PopMatters, experiencing this non-stop dance party hosted by Jona Bechtoit and Clare L. Evans. It included detailed instructions for audience participation: 1) preparation, 2) initation and 3) enlightenment.  Of course, all of this would never work if the music wasn’t instantly infectious.

According to the duo, “"Second Summer" is a state of mind: overcoming obstacles in order to be close to what you love, a temporal place where sun never goes out no matter what season it is in your hemisphere. Like the original Summer of Love and its acid house revival, the Second Summer of Love, our aim is true: to create environments of total freedom.”  The song blasts off into YACHT’s full throttle party mode, with a chugging beat and ironic lyrics sung in a tandem octave:  “Can you stand by your man, as the shit hits the fan?”

The video features the animation of ADHD, with the Smiangle dancing solo with fork and sharing with other shaped creatures (giving new meaning to group consumption).  As explained by the band, “This video represents the ultimate manifestation of our spirit animal, the Smiangle, morphing from an impersonal signifier of mystical subtext into something completely alive, surreal, and psychotropic." 

This Saturday, December 8, a celebration is being held in honor of YACHT’s 10th anniversary at the Echoplex in Los Angeles.  The performance will include material from all eras with special guests and even party favors for the audience. I’m obviously on the wrong coast this weekend!