Bristol, UK, three-piece Yo No Se release their second full-length, Terraform, on June 18 through Stolen Body Records. It is an album that has precious little time to screw around. Its 11 tracks run a total of 41 minutes, and as the follow-up for 2017’s Soma, it brings together rawness and aesthetic development across songs that appear simple but offer depth of sound and atmosphere alike, and as it pushes through opener “Black Door” — one of the longer inclusions at 4:49 — the stage is set for a punk-derived vibe that recalls Bleach-era Nirvana — Jack Endino mastered here — in its tonal buzz and in the sneer and drawl of guitarist Al Studer, which comes more forward for the unabashed hook of the subsequent “Santa Muerte,” leading to some fuller tonality in “Pilot” and nastier thrust in “Misery,” a momentum quickly built that holds to and through the trippier sway of “Mosquito” and into “Slaughter,” a centerpiece of more drawn tempo but still readily within the reach they’ve established, as well as the themes of general human terribleness that seem to permeate.

No argument, right? Humans? The worst?

Studer, bassist Jason Strickland and drummer Matt Neicho structure side B not entirely dissimilar from the preceding half of Terraform, but the plot thickens. “Hairy Chin” bounces unrepentantly, and “Feast of Lies” feeds a proto-thrash impulse while “Hold Fire” speaks to post-Nebula recklessness, but oh my goodness it’s fun. The brashness, the undercoating of fuckall that runs alongside the songwriting, and the attitude that’s laced throughout, wherever an individual song is headed, brings the two bookended sides — shorter tracks surrounded by longer ones — not enough cohesion to make it predictable but enough so that you’re never going to go any further off the rails than the trio want you to be. There’s a story to tell here after all, and if the horrors of the Bruce Pennington album art don’t hook you — so death metal as they are — the hooks will, and though one hasn’t had the benefit of a lyric sheet, it seems fair to say that the pick-your-dystopia age in which we dwell is not absent from the context of these sonic digs.

The penultimate “Nectar” hits the four-minute mark and is downright patient compared to some of what’s come before, but Yo No Se save their broadest reach for the concluding title-track, a languid rollout moving beyond the prior cut in order to shove Terraform into the band’s outer reaches while still keeping a foot back for the dug-in-dirt tonality that’s been working to their benefit since “Black Door.” I can’t imagine I’m the first to make the Nirvana comparison and I doubt I’ll be the last, but Yo No Se push an edge and nastiness of their own, like they’re pouring water on dust of grunge and calling the mud sludge rock.

You can see the premiere of the “Mosquito” video below, followed by the release info, courtesy of the PR wire.

Get nasty and dance:

Yo No Se, “Mosquito” official video premiere

Yo No Se on “Mosquito”:

“Mosquito is a song about people living off of your hard work. The same people that leave the moment they have nothing more to gain from you. For the video we asked our friend Toby Cameron of On Par productions to film Alex so we could then get Arturo Baston to work his magic over the top.”

Preorder: https://bit.ly/3rxPAZL

Video concept by Alex Studer. Filmed by Toby Cameron of On Par. Animation and edit by Arturo Baston.

Yo No Se return after a 5-year hiatus since their last album, Soma. Their new album Terraform continues on from the dystopian world created in Soma but this time taking the narrative to the stars. Terraform explores the ideas of making a fresh start on another planet but the same problems creep in…. Greed, corruption and hate. Exploring more of a grunge feel along with some hard psych the band recorded with Dom Mitchison (as well as Alex doing guitars and vocals at home), mixed with Ali Chant and mastered again with grunge godfather, Jack Endino.

The band have toured across Europe in support of Soma in the last 5 years and gained a reputation for their loud and energetic shows. The album has 3 drummers under its belt and countless breakdowns on the road. With the pandemic kicking in just as the band started touring, they had plenty of time to finally record (and find another drummer). Terraform is a record 5 years in the making due to sheer bad luck. Hopefully, their luck will change as the band are already working on their follow up record.

The artwork for the cover is by renowned sci-fi artist Bruce Pennington.

Tracklist:
1. Black Door
2. Santa Muerte
3. Pilot
4. Misery
5. Mosquito
6. Slaughter
7. Hairy Chin
8. Feast Of Lies
9. Hold Fire
10. Nectar
11. Terraform

Line up
Alex Studer: Guitar, Vocals
Jason Strickland: Bass
Matt Neicho: Drums

Yo No Se on Facebook

Yo No Se on Instagram

Yo No Se on Bandcamp

Stolen Body Records website

Stolen Body Records on Facebook

Stolen Body Records on Instagram

Tags: Bristol, Stolen Body Records, Terraform, UK, Yo No Se, Yo No Se Terraform

This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2021 at 7:55 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.