$hine on

I first heard Yeasayer after Pitchfork (grumble grumble, I know) gave All Hour Cymbals a glowing review. The description of "pan-ethnic spiritualism, filtered

through walls of echo and layers of gossamer synth" pretty much describes my taste in music, so it would be tough to ignore such a characterization. So I gave it a try.

Lo and behold, I loved it. All Hour Cymbals blew my mind, and I listened to it over and over and over. "2080" got the most critical acclaim, but for me it was "Sunrise" that took the cake. You know me and handclaps. Well, this was maybe the song that started it. "Sunrise" inspired my Make It Clap mix, and took that love to a new level.

I wanted to spread the Yeasayer love, telling all my friends to check out this amazing track. We saw them play in Boston and blow MGMT out of the water at Great Scott, but Sunrise never really seemed to catch. It took too long to develop, didn't pop enough. It made more sense in the context of the album than it did on its own. It was missing some bravado.

Enter Pocketknife's Rise and $hine mix, from Pocketknife and Cousin Cole's Canyon Dancing EP. I'm always a fan of anything that replaces "S" with "$" as if to denote that this, indeed, is a money track. Luckily, it is. It adds a driving beat to the track without sucking the air out of the original. If a drum circle decided to cover Sunrise, I'm pretty sure this is what it would sound like.

Yeasayer - Sunrise (Pocketknife's Rise & $hine Mix)