I'd feel slightly uncomfortable putting Yesan Damen's new album on a public stereo system. Some people would appreciate it, others, good friends perhaps, would feel obliged to agree with my musical selection out of expectation. More would ignore it, and the rest would absolutely despise the ten sunlight drenched compositions. Not that this doesn't sound familiar for most recordings, but Chronos / Kairos won't make a believer out of just anyone.
With nods to Brian Wilson's harmonies on "Canons of Devotion", Sufjan Steven's arrangements on "Consequence", perhaps Billy Talent's anthems on "American Riot", and Belle and Sebastian and Elliot Smith's serenity on "Time Spent Elsewhere", Yesan Damen won't be for everybody. Before I noticed these subtle appropriations the music was pretty boring. Once it began though I couldn't help but search for the Decemberists, the Arcade Fire, and The New Pornographers eschewed into the sound crafted by Daniel Kwak and his band of merry players. The aforementioned songs simply unfolded in richness and appeal once these links were found.
So what does this mean for Yesan Damen? As Daniel Kwak sings on "Consequence", "Going against the grain / I'm trying to be the same."; it takes time to absorb the world before it is projected anew against the canvas of creativity. The chorus on the same song,"Finally, I see / Where I'm going", describes what this recording represents - a further positioning of oneself before one sets off. There's no turning back, and for Yesan Damen, that may be a very refreshing fact.



