Yeasayer's Fragrant Gardens

When the assignment came in to interview dance-rockers Yeasayer, I knew I wouldn't have to travel far: I often see vocalist/keyboardist Chris Keating tending to his garden behind my apartment building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. "The garden's a little ragtag," Keating says over coffee at the Wythe Hotel, "but it's coming together now that we've put the grass in." With the ebullient Fragrant World, their third (and best to-date) LP, things are certainly coming together for Yeasayer -- they're currently touring the States, with a headlining gig at Central Park's SummerStage on September 12, and a tour of duty on the S.S. Coachella in December. I begin to ask about Yeasayer's political leanings, especially on the anthemic new track "Reagan's Skeleton," when bass player Ira Wolf Tuton cuts me off to share a photo on his iPhone. "This is my garden," he beams. "There's an elevated English garden in the back, and a fire pit. I put a lot of work into it when we're not touring." Keating nods, "He's got an amazing garden." So when Yeasayer play their big homecoming show at SummerStage this month, what are they most looking forward to? "Well, Frederick Law Olmsted [Central Park's designer] is a hero," Tuton says. "Getting to play in his park's awesome. Dude's made some amazing gardens."