News Yaaks

You kind of get the feeling that, had YAAKS pitched up a couple of years ago, they’d have been making the kind of jingley jangley indie pop that would’ve likely seen them signed and dropped from EMI in the space of two lukewarm singles and a poorly received album. Luckily, we’ve all moved on from those dark days – most of us, anyway – and instead of being drawn towards making tedious pop numbers to soundtrack an Orange advert, they make an altogether more fulfilling noise.

The five piece are based in Eastbourne, and make music that is enough to make the skinny jeaned masses want to shake their hips like they’ve got rhythm. Sonic forbearers are easy to identify, sounding like Friendly Fires might’ve done if they’d never been to Ibiza or like Foals could’ve if they’d never listened to math pop. Where five years ago there might have been a swooping fringe haircut and a substandard bass riff, there’s shimmering synth and an urgency that propels the band well beyond the reach of their peers. The songs are big and filled with ideas, the kind of thing that might soundtrack a Skins advert if E4 tried bringing a bit of class to the series.

It’s a recipe that many, many people have thought up before, but so few have managed to pull off with any degree of credibility or skill. The fact is that, throughout their short career, YAAKS have been pretty much pitch perfect the three songs made available pricking the interest of record labels and bloggers alike. The summer sees them hitting the festival circuit – and it wouldn’t be a surprise if, come the adjacent fixtures in 2012, they were at the head of the bills they’re opening now.

HRHRHYTHM by YAAKS