The Yellow Dress is set to release their third album, “Faint Music//Ordinary Light” on January 4th. This album features an 8 person line-up of musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area, along with guest vocals from several other musicians, mostly from the underground scene in and around San Fran and Oakland. The group gathers inspiration from the literary community, and in fact the album title comes from a poem by Robert Hass titled “Faint Music”.

You can hear many influences throughout this album, which in my opinion is great. The track “Tummy In The Blood” brings to mind Barenaked Ladies, with its’ catchy beat and tempo. The lyrics really speak to me in a very relatable way, and I’m sure anyone who listens to this song will agree.

You can download track 6 called “A Complete List of Fears Ages 5-28 (aprox)” on Bandcamp. I like this one a lot. It has a peppy beat, and the lyrics are very clever. A fun one to be sure!

I love the woodwind in the song “An Elegy for Laura Shain”, it’s not a sound you typically hear outside of an orchestral or classical setting which made it a very pleasant surprise. About halfway through the song there’s yet another surprise when some very nice guitar work manages to find it’s way in. Add in the lyrics and I’d have to say this is probably my favorite on this album. Then again, I am a sucker for a woodwind so I might be just a bit biased here.

I’m picking up on something I grew up with labeled as the “golden oldies” era of music. You know tunes with the background vocals ooooooh-ing and the slow saxophone playing. Though the era was partly before my time, I still love the music from that time. I grew up with those musical influences being quite prominent in my young years so it brings me to a very special, happy time in my life. Not all music does that for me so I love it when I hear something that is able to take me back to those times.

With fun songs, good music and clever, thought provoking lyrics, I think there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy on this album.

Full Press Release:

San Francisco’s The Yellow Dress will release their third and heavily-anticipated album, “Faint Music // Ordinary Light,” in less than a month. Recorded and mixed, entirely analog, at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone Studios, produced by Ian Pellicci (Deerhoof, The Dodos) and mastered by Paul Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Sonny and the Sunsets), the album features an 8-person line-up of San Francisco Bay Area musicians, plus guest vocals from several more, mostly from the underground DIY scene in San Francisco and Oakland. The Yellow Dress has been called a “supergroup” several times throughout its 6+ year lifespan, which is appropriate since every member has at least one other local project in which they perform. The band draws much inspiration from the local literary community and often finds themselves performing at events for folks such as McSweeney’s and The Rumpus; the name of the album comes from the Robert Hass poem “Faint Music.” Preorder digital and vinyl editions of the album from Bandcamp before the official release on January 4, 2014.