Beaten by Yuri (http://myspace.com/beatenbyyuri) have released what is probably the year's weirdest album. Given that it's December already and I can't imagine anybody raising a higher freak flag than Beaten by Yuri, we should already give them the title.
On "Gerta," Beaten by Yuri sound like a number of different groups, sometimes even in the same track. Of course, given how largely dull alternative rock has become, I'm not complaining here; that Beaten by Yuri had me disoriented and confused upon my first initial spins is a credit to their boundless creativity and artistic courage.
Where do I start? The opener "Building an Aeroplane Without Prior Knowledge" starts off as shambling psychedelia before exploding into a Pixies-like fury with enough crazed screaming to spook any adolescent emo group. Watch out for Beaten by Yuri's abrupt mood shifts; they can come at any moment, without warning. Stylistically one can hear the influence of not only the Pixies but their peers Sonic Youth and spiritual offspring Nirvana and Radiohead. "Missing Link" and "Darling Uvula" have an otherworldly quality that the young Pink Floyd would've admired although Beaten by Yuri are far more quirky and low-fi.
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The acoustic twang of "Saluting the Better Half" again finds the group veering into another direction while "Tillie Unite Us" is rife with Beatlesque vocal harmonies. It's pretty original, adventurous, and bewildering rock, looking to the future of music with high-I.Q. irreverence.
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