Artist Of The Day: Yuck

A vocalist leaving a band often becomes a death sentence for a band. It's just hard for a group to recover when their main voice changes, and very often turns away a large group of their fans. Yuck's relatively long period of inactivity only helped lower expectations for upcoming material, but after a couple listens of Glow And Behold I can safely say that the album has exceeded my wildest expectations. The album pulls back on the haze that covered Yuck, a stylistic change that fits Max Bloom's voice far better than it would former vocalist Daniel Blumberg's. There is also a shift to more sophisticated arrangements, featuring trumpets on about half the album's tracks and two beautiful instrumental tracks to change anyone's perspective of what Yuck actually is. Glow And Behold is a perfect return to prominence for Yuck, and the acclaim should start beginning to pile up very soon. Get excited for Glow and Behold by streaming the two new tracks "Middle Sea" and "Rebirth," and follow them on Facebook for more information regarding the new release.

Artist Of The Day: Yuck

If you've happened to visit an online music outlet over the past 48 hours or so, it's a fair bet you'll have seen Yuck's name cropping up left right and center. If you've not, don't get too excited. It's not a new album announcement, although the small print did state that they're heading to the studio to devise a sophomore. No, the main headline is the untimely departure of frontman Daniel Blumberg; a setback which although not fatal has plunged the band's immediate and long term future into doubt, not to mention providing a major complication to the process which will eventually yield a new full-length. Now, let's not get our knickers in a twist, we're hardly talking about musical revolutionaries here. Even the Londoner's most fanatical followers would struggle to make a case against the offerings being exclusively revivalist, and the more reasonable ones might even have a hard time asserting they stand out from the plethora of other modern grunge copyists. The truth, however, is that they've never really tried to, and that's part of their charm. Far from selling millions of records or pushing music forward, their goal is merely to emulate their idols of the late '80s and early '90s, creating scuzzy, carefree music with which they and those of their generation can reminisce. From their languid live performances to their drummer's daft Afro, Yuck epitomise all that's good about refusing to take oneself too seriously, and that's why this considerable setback can only be cast in a negative light.

Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr

Live Review: Leeds Festival, Part 3 Of 3

Friday and Saturday of Leeds 2011 had been great, but even a cursory look at the lineup would tell you that the third and final day was where the fun and games lay. The NME/Radio 1 and Festival Republic Stages looked strong as ever, while the Lock-Up Stage made a welcome return after it had been transformed to the Dance Stage the day before. The days highlights didn't take much seeking out, though, since most of them were positioned on the Main Stage. Things came to a head with the festivals' first 'co-headliners,' The Strokes and Pulp, but there was also gold to be found earlier on in the day, with critical darlings The National, emo legends Jimmy Eat World and timeless festival veterans Madness all coming in late afternoon. It was a day that promised much, and proved to live up to every expectation and then some...

SUNDAY (28/08/2011)

After two days which had been mixed at best on the weather front, the sunshine finally made a long overdue appearance late on Sunday morning. This only worked to improve the atmosphere on site, but Main Stage openers The Joy Formidable still had the strong wind to contend with. Nevertheless, the Welsh rockers managed to battle the elements and played a solid set drawing from their excellent debut album The Big Roar - which is one of my personal favourites from this year. Some of their unnecessary instrumental jams did get lost in the bluster, but the quality of songs such as 'Whirring' and 'The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade' was more than enough to see them reign supreme. There are plenty of bands out there that try to resurrect the qualities of grunge and shoegaze, but few do it as well as this trio, and although this wasn't the best I've seen them it was still a solid way to get the day underway.

Yuck

This surprise could possibly be my favorite album so far this year. Yuck's self titled album is full of staticky, distorted guitars, and superb hooks. Often compared to 90's alt rock bands such as Dinosaur Jr and Pavement, Yuck has created an excellent warm weather anthem, perfect for blasting in your car with every window down. "Get Away" is one of the top five best songs I've heard this year, with a killer chorus drenched in distortion both in the guitars and vocals. Though many of the indie records I've heard this year haven't lasted too long, this record has held up over the past two months while continuing to grow in impact to me. In fact, I can see this record ending up in my top five, and will definitely be top two in my first quarter report, due by the end of March. But for now, you can listen to Yuck on Myspace here.