The band Yuck just may be one of the best 90s noise-pop bands that didn’t even form until almost a decade after the 90s ended. Taking their cues from landmark groups like My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr., Yuck is one band doing their part in keeping the gospel of lo-fi fuzz and feedback alive for a new generation.
Yuck grew out of the British band Cajun Dance Party, a band that from their name to their zippy sound, was definitely more Brit-pop than noise rock. The teenagers that made up Cajun Dance Party, including future Yuck co-founders Max Bloom and Daniel Blumberg, started making a name for themselves on London’s all-ages show circuit. By 2008 Cajun Dance Party released a critically heralded album called Colourful Life, and had performed at some of the U.K.’s biggest festivals. But as they reached the height of their fame, the band fizzled, almost out of nowhere.
But out of that anti-climactic end, Bloom and Blumberg started Yuck. The band got more international with the addition of New Jerseyan drummer Jonny Rogoff (whom Blumberg met on a kibbutz in Israel) and Japanese-born bassist Mariko Doi. The quartet came right out of the gate in 2011 with a critical gem in their self-titled debut. Now two years later, they’re back with a brand-new record called Glow & Behold (out September 30).
They made the record without Blumberg, who left earlier this year to pursue solo work. When you hear tunes like new single “Middle Sea” though, Yuck seems to be getting on quite well without him. The guitars are big and buzzy, but there’s a hopefulness and innocence in the hooky melody and yearning vocals. There’s even a little cherry toward the end of the song in the form of some well-placed horn lines. The horns aren’t a big part of the song in the grand scheme, but they’re the unexpected little hit that really knocks it out of the park, and makes Yuck fine noise-pop torch bearers.
