Customer Reviews

Nightcrawler

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this record is totally new for Yorn and for music in general...there are some sonic textures i've never heard before on tracks like "Georgie Boy" and the Guided By Voices meets Aerosmith "Policies". "Broken Bottle" is a heartbreaker for the bachelor in us all, and "Ice Age" has a beauty I havent heard since Yorn's earlier work such as "EZ". With this being the final installment of his "day in the life" trilogy, and shows like "24" being so relevant....i can't help but feel that Yorn is right on the mark and feels the pulse of his world.

Pete Yorn's latest, Nightcrawler, effectively finishes off what he started in 2001, completing a trilogy of discs that capture a day in the life (2001's "Musicforthemorningafter" and 2003's "Day I Forgot.") Fans of Yorn have been waiting years for this release and it's certainly worth the wait. "Nightcrawler" again serves up a wide collection of pop-fueled rock songs, coupled with those ballads that only Pete seems to make work. A few standouts include "Undercover," "The Man" and "Bandstand in the Sky," which was featured on his "Live From New Jersey" CD a few years back, which was a tribute to the late Jeff Buckley. There are a few songs here that don't entirely work, but Yorn makes up for it on those that do. An excellent addition to the Pete Yorn catalogue.

From the first song 'Vampyre' to the last song 'Bandstand In The Sky' its a roller coaster of musicial bliss. Interesting but the 2nd song 'For Us' has a special guest drummer David Grohl from the Foo Fighters. From there we go to my favorite song called 'Undercover' which has the typical Pete ryhm and riffs which can blow your hair back. 'Same Thing' gives me a David Bowie feel which who doesn't like Bowie? I could be here all day typing about each and every one of these songs. My ONLY recomedation is buy the cd insert it in the car and just drive!
Well worth it!!! A+++

This is a truly great CD. From the darker Vampyre to the light countryish The Man. It's hard to find a song not to like on this CD. Great music, great lyrics. If you like Pete Yorn, you'll love this CD. If you haven't heard his stuff before, this CD is a great way to get to know him. Then go out and get Live From New Jersey to catch up on his old stuff.

Pete Yorn could've just as easily entitled his remarkable 2001 debut
"musicformelancholytwentysomethingswholiketheirsingersongwriterswithsomeoomph." Well, maybe musicforthemorningafter is a better title after all. Yorn's fusion of rock, folk, and synth pop set him apart from many of his singer-songwriter contemporaries, whose spare acoustic musings sounded lovely in a living room, but lacked the power to keep a crowd on their feet. Unfortunately, Yorn couldn't conjure the same verve for 2003's Day I Forgot. He showed himself once again to be a more than competent songwriter, but much of the album felt uninspired. On his latest album, Nightcrawler, Yorn recaptures much of the vitality of his debut while expanding his musical boundaries.

With the album's opening track, "Vampyre," Yorn makes it clear that he intends to expand his sonic palette. Backed by only an acoustic guitar, he barely rises above a whisper as he sings the opening lines, "In the beginning they had positive traits." By the end of the song, the soft tones have given way to distorted guitars and throbbing drums, as Yorn delivers the closing lines with a tremulous wail. On the riff-driven "Policies" he utilizes an eclectic blend of instrumentation, including clips of distorted trumpet, and proves a political song can, in fact, be fun.

Yorn doesn't abandon more straightforward pop songcraft, though. Songs like "For Us" (the album's first single), "Undercover," and "Maybe I'm Right" demonstrate his knack for memorable hooks and powerful choruses. The man knows his way around an acoustic song, too. On what is possibly the album's finest song, the folk-tinged ballad "The Man," Yorn enlists the help of Natalie Maines, whose harmonies beautifully complement Yorn's plaintive vocals.

Nightcrawler has some missteps, though. Yorn's experimentation sometimes yields skip button-worthy results, particularly on "Same Thing," which sounds like a Depeche Mode B-side, and the insipid "Georgie Boy." The second half of the album lags a bit at times, too, with a couple of songs retreading earlier ground, most notably the washed-out "How Do You Go On?" which recalls the superior "Maybe I'm Right."

Yet, when Yorn is at his best, which is the case on the bulk of the album, he crafts songs that feel fresh each time you hear them. Whether Nightcrawler is Yorn's best work is debatable, but it's undeniably good.

Every so often a great cd comes along that makes you just want to go out and tell everyone about it and for me this is one of those albums. Nightcrawler is a impressive album that highlights many of Yorn's talents which can be seem in songs such as ; Vampyre, The Man; Splendid Isolation and Ice Age. Also unlike many cds that are released these days with only one or two tracks that are decent, Nightcrawler differs as there is not a bad track on the entire album. So if you are looking for an album that you can listen to from track 1 to 14 this is the album for you.

I can't get track 5 ---The Man--- out of my head! What a beautiful song...I love this CD..other favorites are For Us,Undercover,Alive and the beautiful Ice Age..I think this is Pete Yorn's best work so far...you have to give it a few listens and then it just gets under your skin...this guy is the real thing...he is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll" HE IS THE MAN!

This is a pretty good album. It's still easy to identify the Pete Yorn feel in these songs. Yes, it's a bit darker, a bit more electronic at times, but it's still clearly classic Pete. I'm actually a bit impressed by some of the depth (layering) in a few of these songs. Namely, "The Man" and "Maybe I'm Right". These are two very fine songs, and "Ice Age" is a great great solemn song. I certainly don't feel he took a step backwards here, or even sideways. Maybe a baby step forward.

I knew he had it in him, Pete Yorn has shown flashes of brilliance on his previous albums and Nightcrawler takes him to the top of his form with a brilliant album top to bottom.

The opening song is a beautiful lead-in to an album focusing almost exclusively on the song. The second song, "For Us" gets under your skin even on the first listen and falls into the classic category. There's not one weak track here and even the odd electronic "Georgie Boy" works for a songwriter illustrating just how confident he is with a tune. The duet with Natalie Maines brings out the best in this out of tune but talented Dixie Chick and doesn't even sound in the slightest country.

Pete Yorn has clearly established himself as one of our best alternative songwriters with Nightcrawler and this third studio album has him clicking on all cylinders. His remake of Splendid Isolation does the song wonderful justice. Warren would be proud.

Lyrically he still dwells a bit heavily on sentiment but each song like this ("Over the Ice Age" etc.)he deftly executes and tells such critics like me to go to hell. It's what he does best.

Pete Yorn and Nightcrawler should be on many top five lists this year.

Three and a half stars.

This third studio offering of Pete Yorn may not, as a whole, rise to the level of his debut album, but it's got some gems. "For Us" is the "hit single" on this work, and is a decent guitar-and-drum piece with Yorn's breathy stylized baritone at its best. I really enjoyed the instrumentation and voicework on "Policies" even if the song fades rather early for me. At times the album took me back to the sort of guitar-and-harmonic easy rock feeling of The Hooters, especially with "The Man" and "Splendid Isolation." "Ice Age" was just pretty and it's too bad Yorn didn't resist the urge to make it louder in the middle.

If you're a Yorn fan, you'll like it. If you're willing to buy it for a couple of songs (like "For Us"), then you'll be happy enough. If you're a stranger looking to get your socks knocked off in a whole-album experience, you might want to move along.