Reviews

How indie rock can indie rock be? What about being signed to an indie record label at just under 400 Myspace friends (which happens to be quite reassuring that a band can still be successful without an exploding Myspace and over the top photo collection). Could it be the five-member lineup with six different, eclectic instruments, excluding vocals? Or is it something about the folksy, down to earth presentation, with influences from country, bluegrass, punk, and a laundry list of other musical styles that make this band so damn independent from the mainstream hype of music?
 
A grainy acoustic style complete with sharp bass, free willed drums, a violin adding a bit of Celtic influence to the music, at times a mandolin or banjo, and absolute genuine intentions and truthiness (credit: Stephen Colbert) about their influence from both mainstream and indie music; Haywood Yards’ self titled album may be the most unique mix of musical styles I’ve heard on a CD in the past year.
 
The CD begins with “The Weekend of June First,” a track complete with a hi-hat roll and building guitar and banjo that soon die down as they are as far as a band can distance themselves from screamo. The beginning vocals are almost reminiscent of Queen, with a man and woman singing snappy vocals together over a beat driven by bass and guitar. This leads into a chorus with wailing vocals over dramatic drawn out drums. The opening of the song sounds a tad like a band of high school kids whose parents bought them the wrong instruments. I almost wrote them off here before the second verse picked up the pace, which put me at ease a little as the punk-rock/emo influence on their instruments of choice delivered something almost novel but fun.
 
This rings true in most of the tracks throughout the album, with a few exceptions being made at times when the mandolin is featured rather than the banjo as it is in “Hummingbird.” The next few tracks lead up to what is perhaps the most punk influenced track of the album in “Strange Drunk.” Upbeat and fun, it carries its speedy tune in a cluster of sounds and leads right into the funk-influenced ballad “Jubilee” (that’s probably going to be the only time I ever use that phrase).
 
The CD winds down with first “Oceans,” then “Lincoln Square Vs. Racism,” perhaps my two favorite tracks on the album. The album finally closes out with “Pirate Song,” which is a winding, twisting song and a fitting end for an album that was as much as the song itself.
 
Although outside the realm of my style, Haywood Yards’ self-titled CD is uplifting and a tad charming in its own small way. Both humble and extravagant, the band brings their listeners into a new realm of music uniquely their own. In an industry filled with visual aesthetics and disingenuous modesty, Haywood Yards provides a band to root for; I give it four stars. Good album, plain and simple.