A whirling assault of juddering synths, booming bass, and passionate powerful vocals. It roars with a menacing undercurrent that hits much harder than the soft and sumptuous soundscape lets on.
It starts with ‘Propaganda‘ which perfectly sets the tone. The drums are absolutely thunderous, driving forth a dark and constantly shifting onslaught of writhing noise that resonates like a tuning fork for much longer after each note is struck.
Lyrically it has a post-punk poetry in its repetition and central political theme. There is a raucous and rowdy rhythm to the vocal melody that shifts and evolves over the course of the track building and emphasising the message.
This is progressive punk, not afraid to let the sound shapeshift, wielding dagger sharp riffs that it returns to, but it isn’t content to just hammer them home, instead it fluxes and flexes them with finesse.
‘Leave Me Alone‘ cements the bubbling bass as the central pillar around which the bands sound is built. It is a growling beast that prowls through the shadows of the song with a feral energy that is ferocious when allowed loose.
In the death knell of the song we get this psychedelic freakout that is as much Pink Floyd as it is Joy Division. The music has this innate connection to the lyrics mirroring the message and mood.
The third track serves up this chunky blues riff at the centre, it has a slight dissonance to it that prickles against the more electro post-punk heart of the bands identity.
The drums are much slower, the bass much more measured, the guitar wails out sweet licks in between the verses that have this haunting tone that exaggerates the skill behind the emotive solos.
‘Everything Will Be Clear‘ takes us straight to spooky town. It has this haunting quality that hisses through the speakers with a deep resonance that brings to mind a gothic disco vibe.
The Irish accent shines through melodically on the choral refrain of the song, at times spoken, at others passionately sung, the lyrics are incredibly inspiring with a strong empowerment that lets the light in through the window of even the darkest days.
‘Late At Night‘ instantly established itself as a Yack favourite. It has this fuzzy frenzy to the wonky stomp and wave of the monstrous main riff that is impossible not to nod along to.
Lyrically it has a bedrock strong narrative as it tracks the dark roads of midnight. It shows off the storytelling that shines as strongly in the lyricism as it does the prophetic progressive power of the musicality.
With ‘Don’t You‘ we have a slightly slower burn as the song slowly stokes the sound until it sets ablaze in the chorus. It has a foot stomping off beat stroll in the rhythm that comes together as the lyrics do when it starts “feeling good”.
This is followed by the instant bone tingling chill and neck hair tickling easy unease of ‘What We Are‘. A poetic and humbling honest look at the fragility and caustic capitalist callousness to the human soul.
The track has a death march quality to it as it slowly treads tired feet along to the beat prescribed. The instrumentation has moments of frantic freedom as it bucks against the doldrums and manages to grasp hold of something more beautiful and real.
‘Blood Like Water‘ acts as a rallying cry for the album. Tying together the woven lyrical threads and themes that have been led up to this point. It gazes into the void of failing mental health but manages to pull itself back from the brink.
The entire album is filled with the blood of the raw and pure honesty of its poetic pen. While it dances with dark themes, somber soundscapes, and nightmare narratives, it manges to find the sparkling light of it’s north star from the midnight black to retain a positive promise.
‘I Can See‘ looks out across the city it calls home and away from the shoe gaze and soul searching of before. It asks the question that if all you see is incomprehensible cruelty and madness in the world, is the world broken or are you?
The album ends with a melodic major uplift tickling out a dazzlingly clear sunrise of an intro before diving deep back into the distorted fuzz. The guitar dances throughout the track to provide a restorative refrain that speaks so much louder than words ever could.
The album brings together an eclectic mix of sounds and influences that make sure that the prog-rock post-punk evolution that is present in each individual track is reflected in the whole.
Dancing in the dark of the midnight moon but in a glitter-ball suit that reflects what little light shines. This is music with gothic gloom and a smiling heart.
Words by Matt Miles
