Boston Band Crush

C.D. On Songs: Orly and Yagel // "Options"

On 10.07.11 | In C.D. On Songs | by C.D. Di Guardia

The correct answer to any questioning owls you may come across is “YES, RLY.” We don’t mean to make fun of half of this band’s surnames, in fact, we think it’s awesome. Yes, RLY. And it’s further awesome that they are releasing their record to the anxious world on Thursday, October 13 at McGann’s. We suspect that this record – if it is anything like this song – will make the entire world a lot less anxious.

Orly & Yagel – “Options”
Go Download It All!

Keeping your options open is a fairly easy-going thing to do. Hey, you wanna go out tonight? Ehhhh I’ll keep my options open. See? Orly & Yagel’s “Options” captures that easy-going essence in style, presenting the listener with a go-with-the-flow attitude that is as infectious as it is carefree sounding. This track sort of lopes along the road at its own pace, lending out a hand for anyone to join for however long. This song takes ‘er easy via its mix of reassuring rhythm and the calm sunshine of the vocal melody.

The vocals do keep “Options” open; Orly Foreman has a pleasant voice; as if she sings every line through a shy half-smile. Her voice is reminiscent of Zooey Deschanel’s, in that it is timeless-sound. You hear her sing, and you forget what year it is. The arrangement doesn’t help with this temporal displacement – it sounds like Burt Bacharach is situated somewhere nearby, grinning effervescently, despite the fact that raindrops might keep fallin’ on his head. This track dances through the raindrops – not between them. “Options” somehow manages to sound very, very satisfied with itself, without ever seeming smug. How do you pull that one off, song?

The entire arrangement manages to sound like it came from somewhere old timey, yet right around the block. Like somewhere, women in fancy gowns are still singing into bullet-head microphones in front of tiered horn sections. But that somewhere doesn’t sound as if it is too far away, either – Orly & Yagel are definitely children of the modern world. They just have this particular essence about them – “easy listening” has such a stigma to it, yet it is very, very easy to listen to “Options.” Go figure.

Want to submit your band’s song to C.D. On Songs?
To be reviewed in a C.D. On Songs column, please:
*Be a Boston-based band/artist.
*Email a single mp3/m4a/etc. (or a download link to one) to cdonsongs (at) gmail (dot) com, with the subject line “C.D. on Songs” (DO NOT send us a bunch of songs and make us pick, we will ignore you). We require a file – not a streaming link.
*Include album cover art if you have any. If you don’t, a band photo or logo is acceptable.
*Tell us when you want to see it! Give us the date of your show and we’ll make sure it runs as close as possible to that day. No kidding.

We will assume that we have your permission to make the song downloadable on Boston Band Crush (readers will want to hear it, after all). If that’s not ok with you, say so and provide us with a link to the song on an embeddable player like ReverbNation – something we can include in the post (and not just link to).