Glow & Behold… Incan-decent

Review: Yuck – Glow & Behold

Published on October 1st, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

Yuck are very, very good at sounding like the ’90s; so much so, in fact, that you might get several tracks into their second album Glow & Behold before you question how worthwhile it all is.

Front man Daniel Blumberg departed after Yuck’s eponymous 2011 debut, guitarist Max Bloom stepping into the void, but the philosophy remains broadly the same.

That is to say, Glow & Behold sounds like someone’s judiciously compiled and sequenced old mixtape. As long as you’re not all that fussed by such straitjacketing of ambition – and are a fan of the bands we’re about to mention – you’ll find much to like here.

Opener “Sunrise in Maple Shade” could be a sleepy Broken Social Scene instrumental, while the nicely shaded jangle pop of “Out of Time” (apt title!) lays big, whirring My Bloody Valentine guitar all over its luscious chorus.

However, the MBV soundalike contest is won hands down by “Rebirth”. It applies itself with a lightness of touch that distinguishes it some, and it would be churlish to deny that it’s entirely listenable, even enjoyable.

Necessary, though? We find ourselves similarly in two minds over the romantic Built to Spill-ishness of “Memorial Fields”, the Sonic Youth-y shoegaze of “Middle Sea” and the ‘lost Britpop anthem’ of the closing title track.

“How Does it Feel” reminds of the criminally underrated Beulah, with just a dash of Super Furry Animals’s “Presidential Suite” for good measure. These are all stellar reference points, so it could be a lot worse.

Most effective on its own terms is “Nothing New”, a radiant, organ-lit strum that undergoes some canny twists and turns in its melodic progressions. It’s just unfortunate that its title reads like a condemnation of its comrades.

Glow & Behold is out now on Mercury Records.

You can buy Glow & Behold on iTunes and on Amazon.

Rocksucker says: Three Quails out of Five!

a quail a quail a quail

Artists: yuck

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.