EP Review: YONAKA - 'Welcome to my House'
A band out of Brighton seemingly brought together on "why not" mentality, have gone on to be one of the most explosive alternative-rock hybrid creations in recent years. The trio of YONAKA - comprised of Theresa Jarvis (vocals), Alex Crobsy (bass), and George Werbrouck-Edwards (guitar) - have brought about a new systemic wave in the world of rock. It started with Don't Start With Tomorrow in 2019, as Punch Bag brought a blistering knockout to the gut, transpired into Seize the Power, a euphoric expose of greater songwriting and now we see the next kickstarter into their next chapter - Welcome To My House.
A sound bending to the whims of emotion, YONAKA's EP focuses on living in the here and now, allowing you to grow - all the while shooing away those ghosts of the past.
The new EP review sees hallmarks of explosive electronic flurry, angsty outbursts turned-cathartic releases featuring three released singles, "PANIC", "Welcome To My House" and "Give Me My Halo." PANIC shares a reprising role to the thematic tellings of mental health and anxiety, as Theresa learns to love herself again - "And I've been living with this b*tch, my new replacement / Over and over and over again / I tell her the rules, but she always breaks them." While Give Me My Halo embraces calm in calamity as the piano ballad is accompanied with Theresa's angelic vocals: I don't care anymore / I want to feel untouchable, spread my wings, touch the sky and breathe it in / so give me my halo."
The EP also welcomes in By The Time You're Reading This, a highly-spirited animal of emotional connectivity, as Theresa notes, "This song is about living in the moment. When we aren't consumed by our past or worrying about our future that is when we are truly living. I feel like so many moments have been missed from not being fully present and you only realize how much this thing or persona was to you when it's gone. I think it's about taking the time to enjoy what's infant of you and stop becoming the story of your past.." I Want More and I Don't Care go hand-in-hand with a glitchy tribunal of swathe guitar and pulsating pop inflections, while Hands Off My Money is a rock powerhouse that charters back to the four-to-the-floor noise of their first in 2019.
It's no wonder that a band as hypnotically dark and enchanting as these three, are named after the Japanese word for dead of the night, right? It's chaotic, it's a mood, all wrapped up in a tensive reprieve of electronic - and it's catchy as hell. It's a valiant return from the trio who have been fairly quiet for two years - and frankly, it's almost as if they never left.
The EP release also precedes with a blockbuster booking of festivals in August, including a headliner slot for No Play Festival in Liverpool's Invisible Wind Factory, Reading + Leeds and Misery Loves Company Festival in Bristol at the end of September.
Words by Alex Curle
