With Yes Yes Okay Okay, Graves -- the nom de rock for Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter Greg Olin -- has concocted an ideal set for indie rock fans seeking sounds to decompress with. Subtle and satisfying, the disc boasts inventive, holistic songcraft masked as gentle background music. Steeped in nylon guitar and adding elements like trumpet and piano -- courtesy of collaborators on loan from
Norfolk & Western and
Desert City Soundtrack among others -- these ten succinct songs range from the evocative "End Love" to the glistening "Connection Time." The latter is so capably structured Olin even re-does it in French (as the wisely titled "French Connection Time" to close the set). Horn enthusiasts will delight in the trumpet-steered "Headphone Brigade," but Olin -- whose vocals often resemble
Mark Eitzel's -- rarely sags as the delightful Yes Yes Okay Okay unfolds. Highly recommended. ~ John D. Luerssen