Album Review: YAK - Alas Salvation

There are very few bands out there that truly belong onstage. YAK is most definitely one of them. So how do they fare without the visual element?

Immediate squally feedback promises much. Enter indecipherable ranting that sounds megaphone-enhanced. Then the guitar sounds that close out opener Victorious (National Anthem) call to mind that evil laugh at the start of Feel Good Inc (Gorillaz) - how did they do that? Hungry Heart follows with an intro that evokes The Peep Tempel's Carol (win!), but then the arrangement deviates ad infinitum like a derailed rollercoaster. And just when you feel like you have YAK aurally figured out, Use Somebody incorporates a Led Zeppelin-esque riff. We dare you to try and tap your foot to the royally fucked up and disjointed Take It as this song explores a more delicate side to frontman Oli Burslem's vocal (relax, it's only for a split second).

These songs exhilarate because they're completely unpredictable; it's hard to imagine YAK ever playing one of their tracks the same way twice. Particularly album highlight, Curtain Twitcher, during which Burslem actually sounds deranged (as punctuated by drummer Elliot Rawson's rim clicks). This album doesn't lack humour (see lyrics: "Wide-eyed philistines, they're a joke") and Smile is regal, more like something Nick Cave would produce. Then there's a whiff of The Strokes in Doo Wah.    

You'll come out the other end of listening to YAK's aptly titled debut album Alas Salvation - in its entirety - with a smile on your dial akin to a first-time crowd-surfer returning to the mosh.