YACHT @ Crescent Ballroom

A band that shares a name with a fancy boat, sometimes includes a triangle instead of an "A" in the spelling of its names, and uses music to preach a cultish philosophy sounds like something to avoid like the plague. But despite Portland electropop act YACHT's inherent weirdness (including a...

By Melissa Fossum

June 14, 2012

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A band that shares a name with a fancy boat, sometimes includes a triangle instead of an "A" in the spelling of its names, and uses music to preach a cultish philosophy sounds like something to avoid like the plague. But despite Portland electropop act YACHT's inherent weirdness (including a manifesto that describes the musicians as a "Band, Belief System, and a Business"), there's more to YACHT than wackiness. Yes, it's crucial that the band's name is capitalized, it says, because YACHT is an acronym for Young Americans Challenging High Technology. And never mind the the band website's official PDF guide to YACHT's tattoo policy. Seriously, is there more to YACHT than high jinks? Yes. The group synthesizes such influences as Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, David Bowie, and Eurythmics to craft hypnotic songs about both utopias and dystopias, painting fuzzy pictures of the afterlife (Heaven, apparently, is Los Angeles). The weirdness is fun, but it's the infectiously catchy synth beats, deadpan vocals, and a pinch of androgyny that makes YACHT worth drinking its Kool-Aid.

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