For their first label-backed long player, Chicagoans Yourself and The Air dish up seven tracks’ worth of swirling, post-rock-infused atmospherics. Like their name suggests, the band is all about the reflective qualities of music making, drawing immediate comparison to fellow symphonic guitar rockers Cursive and Explosions in the Sky. What sets them apart most apparently, though, are frontman Erick Crosby’s wistful and childlike vocals, which call to mind a less cloying—and twee-free—The Boy Least Likely To. Lead track “Trampolines” exudes youthful abandon, mimicking the air-bound leaps and twirls it name checks via shimmering guitars and plinking string arrangements. Later, “Bon Voyage” goes the heavier, more distortion-prone route, while “Ice Age” mixes the band’s signature sweeps with cheesy ’80s synths and bursts of explosive percussion. It short, this is moody music done right: subtle, gorgeous, and unwilling to take itself too seriously.
4•1•1
Yourself and The Air play Muddy Waters Café (508 E. Haley St.) on Wednesday, July 20, at 8 p.m. Visit clubmercy.com for info.