Chanelling the spirit of Teenage Fanclub, The Beach Boys and Slowdive, dream pop with an effervescent jangle comes blasting out of the speakers on Yakima’s debut EP ‘Go Virtually’.
The Glasgow quartet have already toured with the likes of Pottery and their woozy laidback sounds are captured in all their Big Star-esque glory on this EP. Opener ‘It Helped’ has vocal harmonies and summery guitar sounds, whilst the dual vocal melodies of guitarist John Houston and bassist Neil McArthur deal with the torments of quitting smoking as a lyrical theme, my only complaint is at two minutes and thirty three seconds, it’s over too soon! ‘Judy’s Lament’ has slower echo laden guitar notes reverberating, whilst lyrics revolve around Judy Garland’s apparent insomnia, and why wouldn’t you want to sing about that? So, two great guitar tunes backed up with bizarre yet intriguing lyrics and we’re not even half way through this six song release.
‘I’m Happy (In No Way)’ has more of a fuzzy guitar pop sound to it and ‘Real Time’ has gentle riffs galore reminiscent of The Magic Numbers meets The Byrds, before a lush uplifting chorus kicks in and a guitar freak out worthy of Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis creeps in toward the end.
Japanese cry rooms are the subject of ‘Sheep Boy, Cry Man’, places in Japan where the workers go to cry and regain themselves. This haunting tone is wrapped in a delicately poised dreamy guitar tune which belies its lyrical content, and is a bit like Yo La Tengo out on an all day bender with Ride.
Yakima have crafted an EP that’s the perfect soundtrack for gazing dreamily out of the window, which let’s face it, a lot of us are having to do right now! An astounding debut EP from a band that know how to capture the essence of summer and put it on a record. Pure bliss for the eardrums.
Yakima: Go Virtually – Out Now (Self Released)
From the early days of creating handmade zines, in a DIY paper and glue style, interviewing bands around town, then pestering Piccadilly Records to sell them, to writing for various independent mags such as Chimp and Ablaze, writing about the music I love is still a great passion. After testing the music industry waters in London with stints at various labels, being back in my hometown again, writing about this city’s vibrant music scene is as exciting as ever. All time favourite bands include Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Patti Smith although anything from electro to folk via blues and pysch rock will also do nicely too. A great album, is simply a great album, regardless of whatever musical cage you put it in.
