Interview Yuck: ‘I’m The Proudest I’ve Ever Been’

‘Glow & Behold’ is one of 2013’s standout releases, not least because it was the sound of a band re-arriving, affirming themselves for the second running. It’s a year that’s had its ups and down for Yuck - from embarking on an album release minus their previous frontman, to touring with one of their favourite bands. Guitarist Max Bloom explains:

Looking back at 2013, how has it been for Yuck and how would you rate it as a year?
It’s been a really weird year for sure. It’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I guess that quite a lot has happened so it all feels like a blur. I can’t really remember that much of it.

How happy were you with the way the album was received?
I’m really happy; a lot of people seemed to be really into it. I’m the proudest I have ever been to be in this band, so I’m very proud to release this album to the world. A lot has changed in this band, so I completely get that some people are resistant to the change. I guess we are a band that’s in transition, so that’s on show for people to see.

You mentioned that you see Yuck as a band in transition, where’s next for you guys?
I think we are going to do some new stuff in December. There are a lot of new songs and I’m keen at this point to release more material. I feel like there is more to say at this point. We’re going to record a lot more songs, I guess the band has changed so it feels different. It would be good to show people that.



Where will you be recording?
I’m going to set up a small room where we rehearse, but I do half at home and half where we rehearse. It’s annoying and inconvenient; a lot of new songs came after we played CMJ in New York. We just spent a week relaxing in [drummer] Jonny’s house in New Jersey, it’s surrounded by trees and nothing so you can make as much noise you want, it is quite surreal and a serene kind of place. He’s got this basement room, it is like this man cave so we set up all our instruments in there and made a lot of music.

How has it been playing the new stuff live?
I don’t know whether people’s expectations have been lowered or whatever, but lots of people seem really surprised and have said lots of nice and supportive things to say about our live show. I guess there is a new sort of energy between us and we are all quite happy to be there, so it’s really fun.

Are there any songs you particularly enjoy playing at the moment?
It is fun playing the new stuff and the old stuff too, because it is very different. It feels like something brand new and that is quite exciting to me. We have [bassist] Mariko sing ‘The Wall’, so that’s really fun and people respond really well to it.



How was it touring with Pixies?
It was amazing. It was really weird touring with one of the bands that made us want to start a band. They were really nice people and these shows were the biggest we have ever done, so it was really overwhelming, but also good practice. Those crowds were not our crowds, they were Pixies’ crowds - maybe two to five per cent of the people there would have known who we are - so it was fun trying to convince a crowd that we were worth listening to. It was really fun and towards the end we got to know them a little bit. I found out that their drummer is a magician, so he was doing magic tricks and stuff. They were really lovely people and it was pretty much the highlight of my life.

Yuck’s album ‘Glow & Behold’ is out now via Pharmacy / Fat Possum.

Taken from the new, free DIY Weekly, available to read online or to download on iPad now.