It’s been three years since the release of A is for Alpine, the debut album from six-member Australian indie pop outfit Alpine, that found the band an international audience and was called “an unforgettably light and charismatic gem” by Pitchfork. After relentlessly playing live, staring out of tour van windows, long-haul flights, saving up, moving in, breaking up, and enjoying tipsy late nights in different parts of the world, the band returns with Yuck. Guitarist and co-producer Christian O’Brien says the album was inspired by the desire to go in new and often weird places, “to see if certain things would work in a ‘pop’ song.”
Though the band’s sound is light, their lyrics are focused on an exploration of the group’s “yuck” reactions to first world problems like plastic vanity, distasteful romance, and foolish attraction. As NPR noted in its First Listen feature on the LP, “[Yuck’s] blithe sound can’t quite mask the doubt and hesitation at the heart of the songs.” On the lead single “Foolish,” Phoebe Baker and Lou James sing over jangling acoustic guitars, atmospheric beats, and slick synth swells about a problematic relationship, complaining that “I’m hating what I’m feeling, but I’m so foolishly attracted to you.” “Damn Baby” tackles the ambivalence that comes from being in a partnership that’s idling, saying “I beg of you… lure me out.” On “Shot Fox,” the singers turn inward, with one lamenting over spending “too much time looking in my head.” Juxtaposed with the music’s delightfully bright sound, these ruminations give Yuck an alluring and substantial depth.
“Australian indie-pop crew Alpine craft pop songs with manicured precision, nudging every sound into exactly the right place.” – Stereogum
“Pop music shot through with style, with grace, with a sense of elegance” – Clash Music
RIYL: HAIM, Chairlift, TOPS, Zella Day, Purity Ring, Blue Hawaii, FKA Twigs, Grimes, The Chromatics, Chvrches, Phantogram
Recommended Tracks: Track 2 “Foolish,” Track 4 “Shot Fox,” Track 1 “Come On,” Track 8 “Damn Baby,” Track 3 “Crunches”
FCC WARNING: Track 10, “Need Not Be”
Going for Adds 6/22 & 6/23
Label: Votiv
