Customer Reviews

Year of the Leopard

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I heard the song Woozy with Cider from this album on NPR and fell in love with it. Granted, it is the best cut in my opinion, but I wouldnt say the other songs are not as good, they just dont have the same sly wit and vibe. This album is mostly quiet, relaxed and quite good. If you need your music to be a bit more obvious, try Alexi Murdoch, who I like, but with Yorkston, you have to let the subtlties work on you to really appreciate him.

James Yorkston has here a good album that has songs that are great to listen to during summer while you're out and about in your house. There are melancholic moments in "I Awoke", which has Yorkston self-examining his relationship with a former lover. "Woozy With Cider" is the excellent song that reminded me of some sort of slam poetry, but the spoken lyrics are embedded in an environment so real this song will take your breath away.

If you liked Jack Johnson, Guster, Dave Matthewa, and other cutesy adult pop/rock music, this album's for you. It's for you because it's better and more consistent than anything Jack or Guster or Dave put out. It stays in that soft indie/contemplative music vibe. It's poetry for white people.

That said, this still isn't anything special. Sure it's consistent. Sure it's beautiful. Sure, in a way, it's transcendent. But it's not going to be a classic, and it's not a best of 2007, it's merely a solid folk-alt pop record. First two songs and 5 AM are certainly the best. Wish it was a little more daring, and then I'd get it.