Yeasayer’s second full-length album, Odd Blood, takes an entirely different sound from their debut All Hour Cymbals. The Brooklyn-based band described their sound after All Hour Cymbals as “Middle-eastern-psych-snap-gospel,” which is a sound that’s hard to fathom unless you’ve heard the album.

Odd Blood presents a sound that definitely draws from more pop music influences rather than the experimental nature of their first album. Yeasayer at times tends to use sounds that are dissonant, and to me, somewhat abrasive, but “O.N.E.” is a track that does not fall into that category.

It would seem at first listen that “O.N.E.” is more of a studio Song, or at least if played live would have to use mostly samples and pre-recorded material, but Yeasayer has a way of surprising you. Yeasayer is featured in a Take Away Show performing their single “2080,” using nothing but a piano and some beer bottles for percussion, and the performance is, in my opinion, better than anything they’ve recorded.

Here is their single, “O.N.E.”:

Guitarist and sometimes vocalist for Yeasayer, Anand Wilder, dubs this version of “O.N.E.” as their “country-fried version” of the song, but also states that it is closer to how the song sounded when it was originally written, which is surprising given the electronic nature of Odd Blood.

This version of “O.N.E.” was recorded for the Australian television program Triple J TV for it’s segment which showcases live performances from artists. This version basically strips the original song down completely, taking away every synthesizer and effect pedal, leaving nothing  but acoustic guitars and some simple percussion. I particularly enjoy the country style riff that Anand adds to the intro of this version, but I enjoy even more when the gang sings the riff a cappella  the second and third time around.

It’s amazing how different the two sound, and I still can’t decide which I like better.