Yourself and the Air

Friend of All Breeds (2008)

Brian Shultz

Yourself and the Air play a surprisingly mature and thoughtful brand of indie bearing more than enough melody and wistfulness to get by.

More often than not, it seems like the band is steeped in a world-weary but airy area somewhere between Blonde Redhead and Guided by Voices. But there's certainly some more lighthearted moments, like the middle of "So You've Come to Mingle" where they sound like a less mathy Look Mexico.

Still, it seems the band are best when they're at their most vulnerable. A sudden dramatic shift occurs for the chorus in "All the Ways," where the emotion picks up and a layered, set-back inquiry yelps, "Is it because you're losing sleep?"

In any event, this is a pretty great little EP with an incredible DIY aesthetic to it.

STREAM
Heart Strings
So You've Come to Mingle
My Friends Are in Love with a Feeling