Live Review: Yonaka - Heaven, London 30/05/2019
Yonaka have been a band that has been consistently increasing in popularity for the past few years, releasing a handful of singles and an EP; now on the eve of their debut album release, they took to London’s Heaven venue to give fans a taste of what was to come…
The crowd seemed a bit sleepy as we entered the venue, like they had come for a sleepover rather than a gig; thankfully Scottish outfit The Ninth Wave took to the stage quickly to shake the crowd up and get them in the mood for Yonaka! A mixture of crashing indie choruses and 80’s synth and vocals was the perfect concoction to give the once drowsy crowd a wakeup call, ‘New Kind of Ego’ had a beautifully catchy chorus that had the whole room moving. ‘Sometimes the Silence is Sweeter’ once again took the audience on a musical journey of smooth hypnotising lyrics clashing with huge drums and shredding bass, the bands chemistry is almost scary, in a sense that every song shows another level of their musical talent and addictive stage presence. The Ninth Wave’s 80’s inspired goth pop quickly takes a hold of you and doesn’t let you go until they walk off stage.
Yonaka are always one for stage presence; storming onto stage strobes flashing, drums beating and the audience screaming, things were about to get taken up a notch! ‘Bad Company’ was the first of many new songs from their debut that was played this evening, its pre-chorus gears you up for the full-on insanity that is brought on during the non-stop chorus! The next few songs continue in the same way, ‘Ignorance’, ‘Creature’ and ‘Lose Our Heads’ pass by in a blink of an eye everyone is enjoying the show so much; before a slightly slower ‘Death by Love’ that still seems to pack quite a punch! Speaking of that, new song ‘Punchbag’ hits the crowd like an angry Tyson Fury, the explosive chorus almost knocks us off our feet, lights flashing and Theresa’s non-stop dancing energy encourages every person to move like there’s no tomorrow. A break in the madness comes in the form of an acoustic rendition of ‘Guilty’, another new album tune, George’s masterful guitar playing syncs perfectly with Theresa’s impressive vocals on this one.
The night gets closed with now Yonaka staples, ‘F.W.T.B’ and ‘Fired Up’ gets a gigantic reaction from the crowd, Theresa and Co. not taking a break and continuing to bring the same energy that they had during the whole performance!
On the dawn of a debut release, it can sometimes be a daunting experience for bands; “Will the fans like it?” etc. will be running through their heads, but in this case, they should fear not as Yonaka’s first album is an instant classic and the handful of songs we have heard tonight solidifies that fact!!!
Words and Photography by Joe Dick