Mundo Musique: Yellow Ostrich

Yellow Ostrich are an indie-pop/rock band that was originally the project of Alex Schaaf. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Yellow Ostrich is now a four piece band consisting of Alex Schaaf on vocals and guitar, Michael Tapper on drums, Jared Van Fleet on keyboard and guitar, and bassist Zach Rose. On February 25th, they released their latest album, Cosmos. Cosmos is their first album with their current lineup, as Van Fleet and Rose joined the band when multi-instrumentalist Jon Natchez left the band in 2013, and their fifth since forming in 2009.

It took me a few listens to really get into Cosmos. The opening song “Terrors” featuring some great vocal work from Schaaf over some unique instrumentation, and some distorted guitar, the drum work of Tapper is impeccable throughout. The album goes trough what feels like a range of emotion, some songs, like “Terrors” just feel heavy, then there are songs later on in the album that are fun and energetic. Part of why I describe Yellow Ostrich as indie pop is their use of electronics and drum sampling. Songs like the second track “Neon Fists” and “You Are The Stars” feature this. Part of why it took a few listens to get into Cosmos is probably because I’ve been insanely busy the last two weeks and never gave it a proper listen. I’d always end up zoning out or working on something else by the time I got to the second half of the album, and the second half is really fantastic. “Any Wonder” is my favorite song on the album, a poppy track that explodes into an incredible ending. “How Do You Do It’ a great energetic pop-rocker as well. The final track, “Don’t Be Afraid” is a beautiful closer.

Yellow Ostrich are a fantastic band, and one that’s been slowly gaining some well-deserved recognition. Check them out if you like some of the poppier indie folk groups like Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, Givers and Hospitality, they’re not as dancey as those, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying Yellow Ostrich.