The fact that Amen & Goodbye took no less than four years, is partly due to a case of water damage. The culprit, a heavy rain storm, now returns as the background sound in the song Gerson's Whistle. Right before that we hear a 'classic' intermezzo (Child Prodigy), which consists of a harpsichord tune and some light applause. Add to this the cover illustration - described by the band itself as
… a mixture of Sgt. Pepper's, Hieronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali and PeeWee's Playhouse - and the conclusion seems justified that we are dealing here with Yeasayer at its most psychedelic. Nevertheless, or perhaps because of that, this fourth album by the Brooklyn foursome sounds more like a whole than its more eclectic predecessors. Yeasayer was initially often mentioned in the same breath with other magic ball acts such as and , with beautiful songs like I Am Chemistry and Uma pushes the band toward . And that certainly does not go wrong. (RME)more
