YONAKA's debut album shows their creative energy and raw talent. After head-banging EPs, Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow shows they are a band to look out for.
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YONAKA has been named as one of the hottest bands of 2019 and Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow shows exactly why. The 11-track album features guitar driven melodies, punchy bass and drum beats with aggressive electronics demonstrating the bands ability to create a completely unique sound. YONAKA have been rocking out at gigs and festivals across the UK promoting their new album leaving spectators wanting more. Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow is an album that does not fall short of expectation and presents head-banging tracks throughout and even songs that fans have previously heard before.
The Brighton natives open Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow with ‘Bad Company’. It is an atmospheric opener and sets the tone for the whole album. Discussing issues such as anxiety and feeling trapped, evident in chorus “Have I done wrong? Am I guilty? Why do I feel like I’m suffocating? Oh, what does he want from me?” This is a central theme throughout Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow and is the perfect opener.
‘Lose Our Heads’ follows after ‘Bad Company’ and sticks to the same theme of anxiety and feelings of entrapment. The slow start of the track grabs our attention then comes in Jarvis powerful vocals showing the fiery passion of the song. Best exemplified in the emotional plea in the chorus “Teach me how to love, I’m asking you to break my heart in half” which juxtaposes ‘Teach Me to Fight’ track off the track titled EP. ‘Lose Our Heads’ presents a whole new vulnerability of the band making their songs even more touching and relatable to fans.
YONAKA’s second ever single ‘Ignorance’ makes an appearance on the 11-track album, however it has been remastered under the title ‘Awake’. It is much darker and more rock fuelled compared to the original song. ‘Ignorance’ was one of my favourite YONAKA songs, however with this remastering they have definitely outdone themselves and shown their musical evolution throughout the years. In 2016 Jarvis described the song ‘Ignorance’ about trying to find yourself and realising your worth, that you need to ‘wake up’ to realise who you are. It can be argued renaming the song title to ‘Awake’ shows a growth for the band that they have finally found their own place in the music industry and know who they are as a band, shown through their raw and unique rock sound.
The first time I ever heard ‘Rockstar’ was at Reading Festival 2018 and it pumped up the crowd even though none of us knew the lyrics, hearing the studio version shows exactly why. The strong drum presence and the electronic synths present make this song a festival banger (though this could be said for every one of YONAKA’s songs).
YONAKA discuss real issues throughout this album and are not afraid to show the dark sides of love, shown in thought provoking track ‘Creature’ which explores the toxic nature of love. This is also demonstrated in ‘Fired Up’ which was first released in August 2018.
Overall YONAKA have released one of the greatest debut albums of this decade (in my opinion) and Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow proves just why they starting to make a name for themselves in the indie rock scene. If I could give this album 10 out of 5 stars I would.
YONAKA’s Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow is available now via Asylum Records.
