In 2020, Toronto-based, Ian Daniel Kehoe released three full length albums in one day. Each of the albums inhabited a distinct world of sound (Lennon-esque balladry, guitar rock anthems, and disco pop respectively), matched by a powerful lyricism of curiosity and wonder. The 2020 triptych revealed Kehoe as a breathlessly creative mind difficult to pin to one genre and with an undeniable clarity of vision in his melodic and lyrical powers
Yes Very So, arrives after this exploratory and prolific period, settling on a dialectical form of meditation and self-discovery, it reveals both Kehoe’s most gentle and jubilant sounds yet. In its instrumental mode, the record is crystalline and languid, a palette of beautifully sequenced synthesizer pieces and warm, centered drum machine pockets. These pieces recall the striking beauty of Beverley Glenn-Copeland’s Keyboard Fantasies or Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Green, crafting living environments that unravel their sights with patience and astonishment. In its pop mode, the record is unstoppable. Drum machines barrel and strut, icy synths and foggy horns dance around Kehoe’s nimble and rhythmic vocals, landing hook after hook. Sonically it recalls the ebullient dance music of Pet Shop Boys or Human League; music to lose yourself in dance. Lyrically, it eschews the disaffected irony of 80’s pop writing for something more lucid and philosophical, a sensual curiosity in how we make sense of our physical and emotional worlds.
Ian Daniel Kehoe has toured extensively as a drummer for Andy Shauf, The Weather Station and Julia Jacklin . Before that, he was bassist and songwriter in Attack in Black while releasing several records as Marine Dreams.
