Way Yes – Tog Pebbles

Way Yes – Tog Pebbles (self-released)

With their Avey Tare-esque vocals, Afro-pop touches, and atmospheric soundscapes, this Columbus, Ohio psych-pop quartet immediately evokes Animal Collective, and while they’re far from the first band to do so, they are among the few to infuse their sound with enough of their own personality and style to transcend mere mimicry. Upon forming in 2010, they set out to make feel-good music with a dark twist. Although the lyrical themes explored on their full-length debut include such heavy topics as suicidal grandmas and hating one’s job, as they put it, ‘Listening to Tog Pebbles is like attending a funeral on a beach’: bad things happen, but they’re much easier to peacefully accept when acknowledged by sweet multi-part harmonies afloat on a sea of warm, exotically gorgeous instrumentation.