Yuck have been a band, in some form or another, since 2009. The ride hasn’t always been smooth. A couple of years after the release of their debut, founding member Daniel Blumberg quit the band. That period of flux ended with the arrival of guitarist Edward Hayes and time spent in a dingy studio recording ‘Glow & Behold’, their second album.
Two and a half years later the band are in better shape than ever, according to frontman Max Bloom. Yuck’s third album, ‘Stranger Things’, is the product of settled, relaxed recording sessions and harks back to the energy of their debut, leaving behind the morose musings rife on ‘Glow & Behold’.
Opener Hold Me Closer is a fuzz-heavy statement of intent and displays what the record has in store, namely hooks and plenty of them. Even when the pace is slowed for a moment, on tracks such as the Weezer-esque Like A Moth, the band are able to imprint a melody on your brain. As I Walk Away, meanwhile, finds MarikoDoi taking over vocal duties for a song that sounds like the musical lovechild of Fleetwood Mac and the Smiths.
Their tumultuous history is addressed openly on I’m OK, a pop-rock track with a ‘60s sway that sees them pushing on into the future. “I’m OK is a very personal song because it’s just about the anxiety I’ve been feeling over the last couple of years. It’s very cathartic to write about in a song, but definitely not easy to speak about,” Bloom said. “It felt important with this record to deal with a bunch of that stuff.”
With ‘Stranger Things’ Yuck have done what every band hopes to with a third record: combine the strengths of its predecessors in order to surpass them. It is thoughtful, musically intriguing and incites more than the occasional singalong. Yuck have clearly hit their stride.
Yuck Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu May 12 2016 - NORWICH Arts Centre
Fri May 13 2016 - EDINBURGH Sneaky Petes
Sat May 14 2016 - GLASGOW Broadcast
Sun May 15 2016 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Mon May 16 2016 - GUILDFORD Boileroom
Tue May 17 2016 - BIRMINGHAM Oobleck
Wed May 18 2016 - BRIGHTON Sticky Mikes Frog Bar
Thu May 19 2016 - BRISTOL Exchange
Fri May 20 2016 - NOTTINGHAM Bodega Social Club
Sat May 21 2016 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Sun May 22 2016 - BEDFORD Esquires
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