Kali Holloway, lead singer and lyricist for the Affair, has the kind of voice that sounds like it emanates from her entire body. Somewhat low and earthy, it's reminiscent of Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las but with a punk edge, and I bet she'd do a mean karaoke version of Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield". Holloway would probably sound like she was wailing even if she whispered into the microphone, though there's no way of know that from listening to Yes Yes to You. On the 13 songs on the band's debut full-length, life is apparently always intense enough to warrant a full wail.
Which is funny, considering how simple and innocent some of these little stories are. The Affair continually draw inspiration from the early 1960s, but not so much in sound as in subject matter. Take "Andy", a knockout girl-group rewrite that finds Holloway adding a tinge of longing to her bellow as she outlines a scene that sounds jacked from an early episode of "Happy Days": "Andy, Andy, Andy, the first date was heavenly/ In the movies on the balcony/ When they dropped the lights". You just know Andy has freckles. Holloway's post-movie designs are equally pure: "I want to make out like bandits with you." The possibility of heavy petting, apparently, will be taken up at a later date, maybe after the archetypal "1-2 (pause), 1" drum finishes beating.
If the lyrics to "Andy" seem inspired by third-generation memories of the Kennedy years, the music updates the sound at least to the 70s. Neel Arant plays organ like she's auditioning for the Attractions while the guitars retain a pleasantly thick crunch, the sort of garage tone that's been such a constant in rock and roll it's hard to peg it to an era. Nothing else here is as catchy-- nothing to be ashamed of, really, few songs anywhere are-- but another half-dozen tracks acquit themselves nicely. Opener "Unwanted Company" has a dull, almost half-spoken melody on the verses that nicely deflates expectations for the massive chorus hook. "Honey" is another charming ode to the values of another era ("You want to take it slow/ Let's go/ Take it back from 10 to zero") and the song's bubbling organ base is the prefect soapbox for Holloway to stand and project from.
Lyrically, at least, they border on twee, but it's interesting to hear such naïve sentiments coming from a singer who sounds so worldly and strong. Yes, the record flags in its final quarter, but that's not such a big deal. The Affair seem more like a few-tracks-at-a-time kind of outfit anyway, the type of band that'll find its way into mixes on the strength of their occasionally brilliant hooks and clear, consistent viewpoint.
