Yonaka - Welcome To My House

Two years on from their ‘Seize The Power’ mixtape, we find Yonaka choosing to sharpen their focus: the result is a smoother, more straightforward collection of songs. However, the likes of the title track and ‘PANIC’ are perhaps straightforward to a fault, coming off as overly glossy run-of-the-mill radio rock, and the ultra-shiny production also dilutes the potency of frontwoman Theresa Jarvis’ raw lyricism. Despite this, however, the second half of the EP considerably redeems itself. The driving electro-rock of ‘I Don’t Care’ is compellingly feisty, with a more organic, gritty feel that some of the EP’s earlier songs were crying out for (and Theresa’s rapping is also considerably tighter this time around), while the playful ‘Hands Off My Money’ fizzes with punky energy, proudly wearing the crown for the EP’s most moshworthy moment. It closes out an EP that’s eager to cover plenty of ground – perhaps one of Yonaka’s greatest strengths – but hasn’t quite mastered the skill of consistency.