Review of Yuck at The Button Factory on November 26th 2011
Photos: Kieran Frost
Review: Ross Maguire
Yuck are a mid 90’s influenced indie/alternative band that came about after singer Daniel Blumberg and guitarist Max Bloom left Cajun Dance Party. Since then they have never looked back, and together with Mariko Doi (bass) and Jonny Rogoff (drums) they took the current music scene by storm in 2011 with their self-titled first Album.
The band embarked on a U.K tour which saw them land at The Button Factory for their first headline show in Ireland, and their first performance here since playing at Electric Picnic back in August.
I missed that show, so I was excited to catch them at their own gig for the first time since hearing the album. Given that the band have been tipped as a “90’s grunge revival” act I wasn’t surprised to experience a show full of fuzz filled guitars with melodic chord progressions and vocals that are buried in the mix.
The Button Factory seemed to be the perfect setting for their kind of music. The band came out to a smog of dry ice and a duvet with “Yuck” lazily painted on it drooped behind the drum kit. They opened with “Hoiling out”, cementing that distorted guitar sound and drowsy vocals that were to follow for the next 45 minutes. “Georgia” is one of those poppy,bright songs that clearly takes its hat off to The Cure and “Shook Down” and “Stutter” were songs that took things down a notch.
Max Bloom shared his thoughts on Irish drinking when stating that he “Preferred Jameson to Bushmills”. This provoked a positive cheer from the crowd and the perfect time for the band to launch into an upbeat song in “The Wall”. Certainly their music had that shoe-gaze, lazy vibe and the band weren’t much to look at on stage but their playing abilities were flawless. Other songs that followed were the very Dinosaur Jr. number “Get away” and another soft point in the set with “Suicide Policeman”. The crowd reacted again to “Operation” just barely moving a bit more at this point, considering many could argue this is the stand out track on the album, but they all sounded excellent live so take your pick I would say.
I was interested to hear two songs off the Deluxe edition of their album in “Milkshake” and “Soothe me”, which again went down a storm with the crowd. Blumberg brought the show to a close by announcing the disappointment the band faced with only two dates left on the tour, and stating that it wont be long before they are back in Ireland. Yuck finished the set with “Rubber”, a nine minute wall of sound at very slow tempo, which ended with the band walking off stage guitars left unplugged on the ground filling the room with feedback and the sound of the crowds claps and whistles.
It’s no surprise that the performance only last around the 40 minute mark since the band have only released one album. They are one of those bands where it’s all about the melody. A solid performance no doubt, the live show can only get better with more releases and more experience. Definitely one to watch for the future, and if you like your 90’s Teenage Fanclub/Pavement etc you should get this album.
