Yorn passes his sophomore test
By RYAN RAFFERTY
Scene Music Critic
For years the music industry has been plagued by awful sophomore albums. Often, artists who have an extremely popular debut album seem to have trouble creating another great album, but this is not the case with Pete Yorn. His debut album, musicforthemorningafter, garnered critical acclaim and brief radio play. Yorn's debut was filled with melancholy folk rock gems and pop guitar riffs and hooks that made the album great. His second effort, Day I Forgot, continues in the exact same musical vein. Yorn himself says in the bonus material included on the album that, " Day I Forgot is like an extension of musicforthemorningafter."
Day I Forgot is characterized by the same melancholy sound and catchy choruses and guitar riffs, but the songs are much more energetic than on Yorn's debut. While his debut album had many ballads and slower songs, Day I Forgot is filled with pop rock guitar riffs with the occasional rocker thrown in. Although there are more energetic songs, they still sound like they could have come from Yorn's debut album. In fact, Yorn could have released the two albums together and they would have sounded even better. He doesn't change his sound much at all on Day I Forgot, and that's a good thing. Many artists feel they have to recreate themselves on later releases, but Yorn does an excellent job of expanding on his already established sound.
Musically, Day I Forgot is excellent. Many of the songs have a country air to them, without actually being classified as country. Yorn straddles the line between rock and country perfectly, much like bands like Wilco and Son Volt have done in the past. But the songs are still very catchy, and almost every song gets stuck in your head. Any track off of this album could be a potential single on the radio. There are more rockers on Day I Forgot, than on musicforthemorningafter, such as the heavy, "Carlos (Don't Let it Go to Your Head)" or the goofy, "Burrito."
The lyrics on Day I Forgot are for the most part very personal and capture a certain feeling, but on some tracks the lyrics get incredibly silly. "Burrito" for example, is about driving to 7-11s in search of a burrito. Other songs, however, find Yorn longing to be in love, "Long Way Down," or reminiscing about his life away from music, "Come Back Home." All the songs however are very melodic and very catchy.
The best track on Day I Forgot is by far "Crystal Village." The track begins with a lightly picked acoustic guitar riff, then Yorn's thick, raspy vocals enter with strings bellowing in the distance. Soon the song explodes into an emotionally charged chorus with a heavy guitar carrying the melody. Other standout tracks include the acoustically driven, "Come Back Home," and the country ballad, "All At Once."
There aren't many negative things to be said about Yorn's excellent Day I Forgot. The only complaint a listener may have is that Yorn has not changed his sound at all on his sophomore album. He has simply recreated his debut album, which works very well. Overall, Yorn has created and emotionally charged pop rock album that is one of the best sophomore albums to date.
Contact Ryan Rafferty at rafferty.3@nd.edu
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, April 29, 2003
