Visiting Uncharted Himalayan Dreamscapes with Yeti’s Pill (originally published in Boog City 103)

On first listen to Pill, the latest release from Staten Island-based female-fronted dream punk trio Yeti, it’s really strange to think guitarist/vocalist Julia Simoniello and bassist/vocalist Jenna Snyder aren’t Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s respective long-lost sisters, who decided to form a band after meeting at a Fugazi show, still unaware they’re related to Simon and Garfunkel.

Apparently, though Simonielli and Snyder’s vocal harmonies have always struck the ears of fans as haunting and otherworldly, and the interplay between electric guitar and bass has always been a sweet blend of post-punk excitement and downtempo smooth, the aforementioned scenario is complete fiction.

It’s also strange to think drummer Tom Bones isn’t a machine crafted by the CIA to spark a sonic war between Liverpool and New York by mimicking Ringo Starr, but certainly not as strange, since Bones’ drumming is slightly less sloppy than Starr’s, and far more soulful than that of a machine. He’s a mysterious man.

And Yeti is a mysterious band; though they inhabit New York’s forgotten fifth borough, and have been casting their inventive sonic spells on music lovers all over the city for several years, Yeti’s BandCamp page claims the trio can also be found playing “in cold, dark, remote caverns from which few have ever returned.”

Given how tight and powerful their sound’s become in a relatively short amount of time, it’s safe to say Yeti spends a lot of time practicing in those caverns.

Pill was recorded live at Red Room Studio by Steve Moneymoney earlier this year, and released in September. The album cover dons a wild, elaborate illustration by artist and SVU alumnus Mu Pan, where a baby sits inside the mouth of a live crocodile, surrounded by seemingly infinite chaotic happenings. Seeing that croc conjures up visions of all those other bizarre, endangered beasts that must traverse the depths of Yeti’s caverns during the average practice.

Yeti has nothing to fear, of course; true to their name, they’re at the top of the food chain.

Yeti’s signature combination of fierce and emotive on Pill reminds us that while some fresh musical experimentation expands their kingdom out into brave new landscapes, like the searing emotional roars of “Am I Awake?” and “The War Against Terror,” and the precision prog/math rock time signature juggling on “White Noise” and “Physics.”

The record also sports a new take of Yeti’s classic “Cicada” and a doomy instrumental called “Slow Rojo” with a fuzzed-out bass and horn player.

As always, Yeti’s flowy, philosophical lyrics add to the surreal experience of their songs. “Sea Us” is one of the dreamier tracks on this album, with an enchanting piano refrain reminiscent of early Placebo records, and vocals drenched in oceanic, shoegaze-style reverb.

Pill closes out with the melancholy acoustic track “Metal Box”. The album’s striking emotional power and unique, dense sound are contrasted by the band’s organic, non-narcissistic attitude, which leaves plenty of space for the imaginations of listeners to run wild into the limitless visions and tales the songs might inspire.

Pill is now available on Yeti’s BandCamp page, in addition to the band’s 2014 releases Shadowhead and Fur You.

– Jesse Statman

Read more of Cannonball’s coverage of the NYC music scene from this era:

1. Review of The Grasping Straws’ self-titled debut album
2. Profile of Stu Richards, formerly known as Chicken Leg
3. Review of Thomas Patrick Maguire’s In The Bag
4. Review of The First Law’s She Traveled With Me
5. Review of Little Cobweb’s Indelible Marks
6. Review of Zack Daniel’s Memoirs of a Scared Teenager
7. Review of Prewar Yardsale’s Black and Blue
8. Review of Yeti’s Pill
9. Profile of Horra
10. Profile of Lauren O’Brien
11. Review of Nancy Paraskevopoulos’ Comfort Muffin
12. Blurb for The Icebergs’ Eldorado

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