REVIEW: Yves Tumor – Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume

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On March 17th, Yves Tumor released the anticipated follow-up to his 2021 EP The Asymptotic World. The full-length album, titled Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), features singles released over the past year, as well as fresh new tracks that carry Yves’ signature sounds— a mesh of rock, pop, psychedelia, and darkly ambiguous lyrics hinting at Heaven, Hell, and everything in between.

I approached this project with a bit of apprehension; Yves’ 2020 album Heaven to a Tortured Mind reinvented my understanding of genre, combining ethereal vocals with experimental instrumentation to evoke the awe-inducing experience of watching the finale of a firework show. I wondered how— or if— this kind of collage of genres could be improved upon without losing its dazzling freshness. Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume absolutely did not disappoint. Despite dialing down the erratic theatrics of previous albums, Yves Tumor has re-emerged as an artist who is confident in his artistic strengths and knows how to show them off. With the help of Grammy award-winning producer Noah Goldstein (Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), Yves’ signature sound is smoother than ever.

Praise A Lord notably conforms to genre, or at least a consistent voice, more than any of their previous projects. Yves finds the delicate intersection of theatrical pop and distortion-heavy rock, altering catchy pop melodies with thick and fuzzy guitar, layered instrumentation, and airy vocals that preach existential philosophies and poetic metaphor. The opening track, “God is a Circle”, was released as a single in November and remains my favorite on the album. It opens with a scream and heavy breathing that melts into the melody, establishing a tone of darkness and obsession as Yves drawls “Sometimes, it feels like, there’s places in my mind that I can’t go”. The rest of the tracks fall into a consistent formula; Tumor’s delicate vocals, evocative of Prince’s versatile emotionality, float over sonic atmospheres packed with erratic chord progressions and synths that feel alive. “Meteroa Blues” builds on its drums and guitar slowly, bringing the song to an energetic climax of intense noise. The hazy interlude in “Parody” feels like crossing a liminal space between worlds. “Echolalia” is the most danceable track on the album, with fast-paced drums ushering in a catchy vocal melody. The last track, “Ebony Eye”, reminds me the most of the dramatic crescendo and electronic sparkle of Heaven to a Tortured Mind which initially drew me to his music. Dramatic instrumentation, dreamy synths, and continually layered vocals create a landscape of sparkling colors and excitement. It’s the perfect ending to the album, encapsulating Yves’ willingness to try anything— and everything— at the same time.

Although Praise a Lord isn’t my favorite album (Heaven to a Tortured Mind always takes the cake), Yves has proven his maturity as an experimental artist. The album carries his ambiguous voice and imaginative style, but contains it within a more palatable (and radio-playable) format, balancing pop and rock song structures with contemporary instrumentation. Each track feels alive, having a mind of its own, almost always ending in a completely different spot and with a different attitude than where it started. It’s truly an immersive listening experience that is worth the time. Even if his unique approach isn’t something you are drawn to, it sparks thought about what genre is— or what it can be in the future, and what the pioneers of contemporary genres will sound like. Yves Tumor has, in my opinion, cemented his spot as a trailblazer of the future.

Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume is available on popular streaming platforms. Yves Tumor is coming to the Majestic Theatre in Detroit on May 10th. Get your tickets while they’re still available for a unique live music experience.

REVIEW: A Chorus Line

Ella Larsen Leave a comment

8:00pm • Friday, March 17, 2023 • Power Center

MUSKET’s A Chorus Line blew me away! I can’t imagine a more perfect first time seeing the show. In particular I need to shout out Mariangeli Collado (Diana) and Catie Leonard (Cassie) for their incredible solos, “Nothing” and “The Music and the Mirror.” Collado’s voice is spectacular, and I hope I’ll get the chance to see her in a couple more performances while she’s studying here. As for Leonard, I couldn’t imagine how exhausting the intense combination of dance and song in “The Music and the Mirror” must be, but she appeared to leap and twirl effortlessly across the stage, gracefully transitioning between movement and music. I’d also like to shout out Nicholas Alexander Wilkinson II (Richie) for his ridiculously impressive dancing abilities, practically flying off the stage throughout the performance.

I’m not always great at reviewing dance performances because I’ve never been a dancer. I explain it to friends as trying to analyze an essay in a language I don’t understand. However, even to my untrained eyes, I could appreciate the precise synchronization of this cast. The actors seemed to move as one unit (like a chorus line, I suppose), a cohesive entity even in the scenes where each character was wrapped up in their own story. In the beginning scenes, I thought about how messing up a dance in exactly the right way must almost take more skill than executing it perfectly, because you need to know what you’re “supposed” to be doing as well as how to screw it up properly.

I saw MUSKET’s Fall 2022 production of Little Shop of Horrors, which was a lot of fun, but I appreciated how A Chorus Line played to a different set of strengths. This production was sleeker, perhaps because its set and costuming were more minimal. Whereas LSoH played up MUSKET’s set design and drew on the group’s wacky side, A Chorus Line was subtle, highlighting the student organization’s ability to execute a highly technical production. The quality of the performance was indistinguishable from any UMS or SMTD event I’ve seen yet, and surpassed quite a few. Walking home from the show, I was just struck again by the luck of being a nobody sociology student at the number-one school for musical theater in the country.

If you have the chance to see the final performance of A Chorus Line tomorrow (Sunday, March 3) at 2:00pm, I urge you to do so! It’s only $7 for students, and when else are you going to have the opportunity to see a show like this for $7? I mean, really. MUSKET deserves all of our standing ovations for this one, and I can’t wait to see what they create next year.

PREVIEW: A Chorus Line

Ella Larsen Leave a comment

What: a classic musical that doesn’t need much introduction, produced by MUSKET

When: 

  • March 17, 2023 8:00PM
  • March 18, 2023 8:00PM
  • March 19, 2023 2:00PM

Where: Power Center

Tickets: $7 for students, $13 regular

A Chorus Line is a bucket list musical, and since I have seen MUSKET’s excellent work first-hand, I have high expectations for this performance. For those who are unfamiliar, A Chorus Line was originally produced in 1975, and features seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line, while exploring the personal histories and motivations of each dancer. The musical has won 9 Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize, and remains the 7th longest-running Broadway show ever. If you have a free evening this weekend, I highly encourage you to take advantage of this affordable, accessible opportunity to see one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time, performed by one of our strongest student production organizations.

For me, A Chorus Line at the University of Michigan also marks the beginning of the student production season! I realize that there have probably been plays going on all semester I didn’t know about, but I look forward to the final shows of organizations like MUSKET, Rude Mechanicals, and In the Round at the end of the semester. I encourage folks to take a look at other musicals and plays coming up in the final few weeks of school. It’s such an easy way to enjoy art and relax amidst the stress!

PREVIEW: Yves Tumor – Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume

avameester Leave a comment

Yves Tumor has been an enigmatic figure in the music scene for years. Blending the boundaries between electronica, psychedelia, and rock, Yves Tumor has invented their own brand of contemporary pop that meshes crashing drums with passionate guitar solos to create an atmosphere of drama and emotional turmoil. Their upcoming album, Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), is a long-anticipated follow-up to their 2021 EP The Asymptotical World. Four sonically diverse singles have been released since 2022, teasing the release of the album. My favorite is God is a Circle; one of their moodiest, more gothic tracks, this song combines creative sampling with dark and fuzzy guitar to evoke the sense of doom in a relationship that swallows you whole.

Although his uninhibited self-expression and colorful experimentation have led critics to draw comparisons to Prince and other rule-breaking trailblazers, Yves Tumor has a sonic personality that is completely unique and transcends genre. The ethereal soundscapes and emotional drama of Heaven to a Tortured Mind brought Yves into the public eye— the guitar solos on “Kerosene!” are to die for— and the release of erratically surreal music videos have further cemented Yves’ status as an artist— visual, musical, and lyrical— to watch closely.

Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) is released March 17th on popular music streaming platforms. If you haven’t heard Yves’ music, I’d suggest listening to Heaven to a Tortured Mind and his acclaimed singles before the album’s release. Regardless of whether or not electronic-psychedelic-soul-rock-pop is something you’re interested in, their music is a unique and memorable experience that is well worth giving a chance. Following the album’s release, Yves Tumor is going on tour and making a stop in Detroit at the Majestic Theatre on May 10th. Grab tickets while they’re cheap!

PREVIEW: Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra – Dvorak Symphony No. 7

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This Saturday, March 18th, grab a seat at The Michigan Theater to hear A²SO’s take on Dvorak’s highly acclaimed Symphony No. 7 and Debussy’s charming “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”. Additionally, violinist and International Tchaikovsky Competition medalist Kyung Sun Lee will be joining the orchestra to perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. 

To be honest, nothing makes me feel more old than being able to look at a concert program and have a strong reaction to what pieces are included. However, when I saw Dvorak, Debussy, and Prokofiev all together on the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s next program, I got very excited. It seemed *just my cup of tea*–as the concert-going grannies might say. 

I expect this particular combination of pieces to create a really lovely soundscape–Dvorak’s dreamy Czech melodies along with Debussy’s distinct impressionist sound will provide the perfect stress-relieving break in the midst of exams. On top of that, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 is among my favorite pieces of all time. While on the more conservative, melodically-rich side of Prokofiev’s work, the concerto is a patchwork of heartwrenching melodies and darker, turbulent passages.

Ticket information: https://a2so.com/event-directory/dvorak-7/?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=Bookers%20%20Dvorak%207%20%20Symphony%20Snaps&utm_medium=email

 

REVIEW: 65

Ruth Leave a comment

Jurassic Park, look out! You’ve got some competition with this new dinosaur sci-fi thriller!

All joking aside, I was very impressed with this film. I felt that the premise was very clever in that the directors were introducing us to a world that we are all very familiar and not familiar with at the same time; our planet Earth, 65 million years ago. The main character of this film, Mills (played by Adam Driver), is a humanoid pilot whose ship is shot down by an uncharted asteroid field, which ultimately becomes the main villain of this story as  Mills unfortunately crashed on earth a few days before the dinosaurs met their doom in a blaze of fire, ash, and darkness.

What’s great about this film is not just the character development between Mills and Koa (a young passenger on board his ship played by Ariana Greenblatt), the CGI, or the story line. All of these elements were fantastic, but the real star was the music score of this film. With Chris Bacon at the helm as well as Danny Elfman and Gad Emile Zeitune, this score brought forth all the must haves of a good thriller. Now, I have to admit, it’s not that hard to scare me. I jump quite easily and I’ve only watched one horror film in my life. 65 is NOT a horror film, it’s a sci-fi thriller, and yet I must have been jump scared at least fifteen times during the movie. I’ve never been so exhausted from going to the theater. The way that the music score was constructed was just masterful at building up anticipation and then releasing it at the most unexpected times. I’ve noticed that thrillers sometimes have a tendency to rely on the music score too much, so much so that the tremoring of an orchestra is all you can focus on during a scene as you watch a character breath heavily and wide-eyed for what seems like eternity until the scare finally happens. 65 is not one of those films. The music is a valuable aid, but not the main focal point. The characters, scenery, and music work in harmony to create these suspenseful moments. You aren’t waiting for a scare, the scare takes you by surprise.

65 is a very well done film and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of dinosaurs, wholesome father-daughter relationships, or a good old jump scare!