Yellow Ostrich - The Shakedown
Yellow Ostrich is releasing another fantastic single off their upcoming album, Strange Land, titled “the Shakedown.” The track is sonically guitar-heavy, and inspired by Neil Young, says singer guitarist Alex Schaff. Their upcoming record takes them on the road with a huge tour (listing below) and note the fantastic show here in Boston with Pittsburgh’s 1,2,3.
Strange Land will be released on March 6th
Tourdates
Yellow Ostrich tour dates:
3/3 - Great Scott - Allston, MA #
3/4 - Mohawk Place - Buffalo, NY #
3/6 - Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, OH #
3/7 - The Pike Room at The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI #
3/8 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL #
3/9 - Der Rathskeller - Madison, WI &
3/10 - 7th St Entry - Minneapolis, MN #
3/11 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI #
3/15-19 - SXSW - Austin, TX
3/19 - Solar Culture - Tucson, AZ
3/20 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA
3/21 - Bootleg Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3/23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA @
3/24 - The Depot at Humboldt State - Arcata, CA
3/26 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR %
3/27 - Media Club - Vancouver, Canada %
3/29 - Flying M Coffee - Nampa, ID %
3/30 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT %
3/31 - Hi Dive - Denver, CO %
4/2 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE %
4/10 - Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA ^
4/11 - Black Cat Backstage - Washington, DC ^
4/12 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY ^
5/27 - Sasquatch Music Festival - George, WA
# = with 1,2,3
& = with 1,2,3 and Lower Dens
@ = with Lost in the Trees
% = with Howler
^ = with TEEN
Yellow Ostrich - Marathon Runner
Super excited for a brand new album from Yellow Ostrich. They’ve recently signed to Barsuk, and now are new full-length that builds upon the success from the Mistress. The first cut from their upcoming album, Strange Land, is one damn fantastic song titled “Marathon Runner,” an indie-rock styled track with pounding drums, moody guitar riffs and it feels as though the band was making a statement with this song. It’s anthemic, hammering, a bit of bombast, and one you’ll be consistently turning louder and louder as the song reaches its climactic, critical mass feel. They are becoming a band I can not avoid, and I’m constantly going back and listening to and I’m extremely excited for a new album from them.
Look for them in town to start the tour, debuting a lot of this new material with 1,2,3 backing them up.
Yellow Ostrich tour dates:
3/3 - Great Scott - Allston, MA #
3/4 - Mohawk Place - Buffalo, NY #
3/6 - Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, OH #
3/7 - The Pike Room at The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI #
3/8 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL #
3/9 - Der Rathskeller - Madison, WI &
3/10 - 7th St Entry - Minneapolis, MN #
3/11 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI #
3/12 - The Gramophone - St. Louis, MO #
3/15-19 - SXSW - Austin, TX
3/19 - Solar Culture - Tucson, AZ
3/20 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA
3/21 - Bootleg Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
3/23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA @
3/24 - The Depot at Humboldt State - Arcata, CA
3/26 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR %
3/27 - Media Club - Vancouver, Canada %
3/29 - Flying M Coffee - Nampa, ID %
3/30 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT %
3/31 - Hi Dive - Denver, CO %
4/2 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE %
4/10 - Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA
4/11 - Black Cat Backstage - Washington, DC
4/12 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
# = with 1,2,3
& = with 1,2,3 and Lower Dens
@ = with Lost in the Trees
% = with Howler
Yellow Ostrich - ‘Til I Disappear
Check out this unreleased track now surfacing.  ”Til I Disapppear,” surfaced as a bonus track today. This comes after Yellow Ostrich re-released the Mistress on Barsuk earlier this year. What’s great about this track is it totally belongs on the Mistress. It’s a fantastic, slightly morose downtempo track that really kicks things up around the two minute mark, unleashing pounding harmonies, and a distortion heavy guitar solo. Exciting stuff, and you can get the track for the cost of an email address below:
Review | Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress
Yellow Ostrich - 13 Mary (alternate)
For a band who landed on everyone’s radar by doing amazing covers of amazing indie songs, Yellow Osrich has managed to, in their debut album The Mistress, create a wealth of new tunes that are entirely unlike anything we’ve ever heard from them. They’ve gone from putting a new take on others’ songs, to creating entirely original songs that are just as endearing and catchy.
Yellow Ostrich is fronted by Wisconsin-native Alex Schaaf who currently calls New York home. When he moved to New York, he blindly contacted drummer Michael Tapper - who’s played with We Are Scientists - to see if he knew any drummers available for his project and ended up with Tapper as his drummer. Which is really all anyone can dream about when putting together their band, right? Adding in horn player Jon Natchez, Schaff was able to turn his project into a full-fledged band.
And the change is apparent. Schaff traded in his earlier simple songs for immensely smart and layered lo-fi indie pop tunes. ‘WHALE’, the second track off the album, has so many sounds it’s hard to keep track of. There’s Schaaf’s voice, drums, cymbals, guitars, bass, lots of OH-OH-OH-OH-ing, and at one point a screeching noise that I’m just going to assume is the sound of a real live Ostrich (though maybe that’s a bit of a stretch).
Schaaf’s boyish voice makes the songs smart and catchy but there’s depth too. On ‘Hold On’, in between more loops of OH-OH-OH, Schaaf sings, “Now that we’ve started, it’s sad to see it end. But I’ll try to make it, as long as it’s all right for me to pretend. And I’ll hold on, and I’ll hold on, for you.”
Though the album is simply being re-released on Barsuk Records, there are three new songs included. Which means it’s a necessary purchase for new and old fans alike.
And to add more good news Yellow Ostrich is touring with labelmates Ra Ra Riot this fall, which is sure to be an amazing show. They’ll be at the Paradise on October 20th. Check ‘em out!
Buy The Mistress
Yellow Ostrich - 13 Mary (alternate)
Recently signed to Barsuk, Yellow Ostrich is preparing to release their upcoming album The Mistress. The song, “Mary” premiered today via Brooklyn Vegan in alternate form, with a huge crescendo that showcases this bands power.
The album hits shelves, 8/16 on Barsuk Records.
Catch Yellow Ostrich on the road with Ra Ra Riot:
10.28 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
10.29 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
10.30 Birmingham, AL – Bottle Tree
10.31 Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Café
11.02 Oklahoma City, OK – ACM @ UCO Performance Lab
11.03 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
11.04 San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live
11.07 Santa Fe, NM – Santa Fe Brewing Co.
11.08 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
11.09 San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern
11.10 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
11.11 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
11.15 Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
11.16 Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
11.18 Chicago, IL – Metro
11.19 Madison, WI – The Sett
Yellow Ostrich signs to Barsuk Records
This week Barsuk Records announced that they signed the Brooklyn-based indie folksters Yellow Ostrich and will re-release their latest LP The Mistress on August 16th. Though Alex Schaaf has been releasing music under Yellow Ostrich for two years now, his latest LP was what really catapulted Yellow Ostrich forward in the music scene.
Schaaf also made new fans earlier this year when he released a series of covers. From The National, to Sharon Van Etten and The Tallest Man On Earth, Schaaf covered them all, and he covered them well. In contrast to Matt Berninger’s heavy baritone, I cannot stop listening to Schaaf’s cover of ‘Fake Empire’. And his cover of ‘Zebra’ by Beach House is also divine. While you wait for the re-release of The Mistress, check out the covers. There’s a full list of them here.
