CD: “Something” by Yoofs
February 23, 2014
There’s a long and noble history of bands containing siblings in Rock ‘n’ Roll, a history which includes such greats as The Kinks, Kings of Leon, AC/DC and The Bee Gees. Looking to join this hallowed pantheon are Bournemouth based brothers Michael-James and Richard Dent; also known as Yoofs, with their debut album “Something”.
The album consists of laid back Indie/Rock, but its conception has clearly been anything but laid back, with the spectres of job losses and break-ups hanging over the band all through the recording progress of “Something”, their first proper release since 2011 EP “We Used 2 Be Fun”. So, the question is, has all of the strife and difficulty made this an album that can be placed alongside all those other great sibling efforts?
In a word, no. Unfortunately, “Something” is best described as pleasant easy listening. The album lacks any kind of bite or anything to make it stand out from the monolithic mass of bland Indie that currently sits astride the UK music scene like a vast yawn-inducing colossus. This isn’t necessarily a reflection on the musical ability of the brothers Dent. They provide lovely clear vocals, they play well and they write perfectly pretty songs dealing with the sort of everyday trials and tribulations everyone faces. But dear lord, a whole 12 tracks of it is rather dreary stuff. And those jangling guitar noises which appear to be mandatory on any Indie/Rock album produced since 2008 become tooth-grindingly irritating by about the third track of the album, no matter how well they may be played.
“Something” isn’t entirely without good points of course. The title track is a decent catchy little number; with quite a jolly, happy sound. Itís not quite as monotonous as most of the album’s other songs. There’s also “Show Me The Money”; a real gem of a track, with a more up-tempo melody and some very funky foot tapping bass guitar work. It’s one of the few tracks on the album that really stands up to repeated listens, and it gives a frustrating glimpse of the brilliant album Yoofs could have made. More songs like that and this would have been a very different review. Also; in a blessing we should all be grateful for, Yoofs have had the courage to stop hiding their melodies under a thick blanket of distortions and recording effects. It’s a brave choice but it pays off; as the brothers are talented musicians, and it’s always incredibly annoying to hear decent guitar playing smothered under a huge tidal wave of studio created fuzziness.
So overall, “Something” is a nice enough album. You can listen to it without wanting to rip your CD player from the wall and throw it at passers-by in a fit of rage. But there’s nothing really unique about it, and you’d be hard pressed to look back and recall the name of a single track you’ve heard (apart from “Show Me The Money”, that really is in a different class, and I thoroughly recommend downloading it). So while it would be unfair to say that once you’ve heard one Yoofs track you’ve heard them all; it’s not unreasonable to say that once you’ve heard them all, you do start to feel awfully like you’ve only heard one.
The album is available on bandcamp here.
Track Listing
Do You Feel The Same?
Shady Acres
Déjà Vu
It’s A Secret To Everybody
Take It From Me
Something
For Her
It Ain’t Over (‘Til Its Over)
Show Me The Money
The First Time
Toy Organ
It’s Been Fun
Links
https://www.facebook.com/yoofs
http://www.twitter.com/yoofsuk
https://soundcloud.com/yoofs
http://yoofs.bandcamp.com
Words By Elinor Day.
I like how you write, but I don’t agree with your comments.
Sorry.
i thnk u r just a h8er yoofs r rely gud xxx <3
Good work guys! Getting a rock/metal fan to review an indie album! I am of course joking and you should try again.
This review is rubbish! Hardly says anything about the songs and just rambles about how the writer doesn’t get clean guitar tones? Listen to the byrds you tit!
i think it’s really weird that a song like toy organ is similar to for her? i dont think she listened to the album all the way through lol
i’ve seen this band live a few times over the years, and this album is a pure winner. it may not be for you people who love steel panther and other moronic crap, but this is a classically written pop album and i think it mustve gone over poor elinor’s head!
As per Rock Regeneration missing the point completely. And people wonder why Air Traffic were the last successful band from these parts. Blandness sells and anyone who tries to veer away from said blandness gets crucified.
Part of me is glad we have provoked such a response. But not so happy so many people seem angry. Music should evoke passion and feelings, and not every reviewer will please everyone. Everyone likes different bands, and genres, and that makes life interesting. We listen to a wide range of music here at RR, not just rock and metal. Please note, that we do read these comments and take on constructive feedback. Jon.
We are sorry that you guys and your supporters are unhappy with this review. Please understand this is an honest opinion of just one of our many reviewers not the whole of the Rock Regeneration staff.
it’s fine that each reviewer likes different genres and that RR covers a lot of different bands, but i just thought that getting a reviewer who has no interest in the music she’s covering is just a big misrepresentation of how good the album is. it would be the same if you got an indie pop fan to review the new voodoo vegas record, and i don’t think you guys would even go there. just maybe in future you should assign reviews to reviewers with interest in that genre?
Hi Rockman12, thanks for the feedback and comments. It is a valid point, and we receive a lot of music to review, as well as striving to provide constructive feedback to musicians on their work. Sometimes we cannot always find someone who is into a specific genre, but we try. I have not had the chance to listen to “Something” myself, so will not make any comments on Elinors review, or the album itself, but this is something we will take on board. (FYI: I am not a fan of Steel Panther either!). Jon.
its just not fair to be honest. i mean this makes yoofs sound like a really bland indie band, but they are from it. not many new bands channel the sound of neil young, creedence clearwater revival and the byrds in one album, and people probably wont be able to tell this because of this review. whereas a truly bland indie band like empire affair has gotten really great reviews on this site. doesnt make sense to me!