Labels: Anticon – Tomlab
Review by: Joe Callaghan
It’s always quite enthralling to listen to a new record with a cautious, negative approach, as it is difficult to be thoroughly disappointed. I wasn’t so sure what to make of Eskimo Snow when I read about its premise. This seems to be a collection of songs that didn’t make it on to Alopecia, rendering it a b-sides album”¦ Sounded more and more like a cop out the more I thought about it. However, Yoni stated that it was intentional that he recorded 2 sets of songs which carried two completely different vibes and intended to keep them separate, and release the other at a later date. He was right. Eskimo Snow certainly does carry a very different vibe, and this appears to be his least hip-hop orientated record to date. So, as I stated – before I realised the separation of the recordings was intentional, and I was thinking this was just a collection of sub-par songs “” I listened to this with quite an unenthusiastic ear. This certainly might have helped form my opinion that this record is no less than awesome, in gargantuan proportions. Less hip hop, and more delicately structured indie pop, without being cute and brightly coloured. Yoni absorbs the listener as a truly unprecedented wordsmith, twisting dark, murky imagery with his beguiling depiction. His thin, nasal whine is charming and quite becoming, adding a sundry geek-rock facet, and whilst Yoni really isn’t a singer, his distinct nerdy warbling of extraordinarily adept libretto is more than enough to compensate for his lack of vocal expertise. Musically, I was more impressed than I expected to be. Whilst Elephant’s Eyelash was a near flawless record, some of the beats and compositions sound a little too brash and synthetic. Eskimo Snow relishes in delicacy. The songs are fragile yet enormously atmospheric, bordering on narrow, mono indie pop, to crescendos which almost sound orchestral in the way they build up, and end on a gigantic high. Eskimo Snow tips the scales back and forth with an urgency and inventiveness that is completely unparalleled. Alopecia took a step backwards for me, and it lacked the ferocious bite that Elephants Eyelash had. Eskimo Snow phases out even more delicately, but this time the poise is faultless, and is probably now my favourite Why? record, as well as being a firm favourite for my record of the year.