ALBUM REVIEW: YUCK - YUCK

I will admit that I was a bit (if not more) unhappy with the break-up of indie poppers Cajun Dance Party. They were good, no denying, and their brand of 80s scented pop with hints of The Cure never failed to make me smile. But, as sad as I was, I cannot be but happy at the band that emerged from the ashes of CDP, Yuck.

As it has been said many times before and by better people than me, Yuck sound like a band straight out of the late 80s, early 90s. It’s like singer guitarist Max Bloom and singer Daniel Blumberg decided to take a step forward in musical history. It could be simply labelled as revival and, yeah, sure, there is a certain love right now for early 90s alternative, but what Yuck do feels too visceral to just go ahead and consider they are jumping on any bandwagon.

Sure, their Operation sounds a lot like Sonic Youth’s Teenage Riot, the ghosts of Dinosaur Jr. and even Sebadoh are ever present and, yes, the exuberant chorus and bass lines of Get Away feel like an overdose of Pixies. Sure, the guitars slide like this is Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and the vocals make you think that Stephen Malkmus is begging you not to cut your hair. And yes, Teenage Fanclub and The Lemonhead should feel very flattered when hearing the likes of Suicide Policeman and Shook Down. Just like Strokes and the gang discovered in their parents collections and “revived” Velvet Underground and the 70s, Yuck are doing the same for the early 90s.

But what’s more important is the way Bloom and Blumberg are able to write incredibly rich melodies, songs that are terrifyingly entertaining and wonderful examples of great craftsmanship. They are only 20 years old after all. So what they sound like 1991? Remember five years ago, when everything seemed to be coming out of the neon-clad 80s? What Yuck and a number of other bands are giving us right now, is just a reaction to those times and it has a lot to do with the fact that art is cyclic.

So the only sensible thing to do it to embrace those plaid shirts and long hair and learn how to enjoy what could indeed be one of the best albums this year.  

Find this album: Amazon CD | Amazon Vinyl | Amazon MP3 [Exclusive Version]

~ Ana Dinescu

Below you can find a small interview with Yuck conducted by NME: