Y!KES - 'Everything Pointless Is Correct' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Chekhov's Gun

2. Hold On To Your Grudge

3. Repeat The Objective

4. Hiding In Plain Sight

5. Spitfire Salutes

Breaking into the next decade of music is a band geared toward redefining the climate of music beyond their local scene. Birmingham underdog’s Y!KES spent 2019 battling through trials and testimonies that saw them reestablish their band, lose a member and completely reinvent their own sound that brought them to their latest offering ‘Everything Pointless Is Correct.’ The Frankenstein creation is everything you loved about 70’s Rock and 90’s Grunge swirled with a modern Pop twist that goes down like a refreshing burst of new life.

This EP feels like a creative endeavour rather than monetary or notoriety gain. Passion for making music is felt through every nook and cranny, take for example the influences even down to the vocal style of front man Oli Long who channels the same exasperated, edgy vocal stylings of Kurt Cobain or really anyone from the Grunge-fueled 90s era. Paired with the fast-paced rhythm and electrifying guitars that pay homage to the boastful 70’s Rock, best heard in tracks ‘Chekhov’s Gun’ and ‘Hold On To Your Grudge’, the two styles merge almost effortless and are sprinkled over with some modern Pop production that make the tracks feel nostalgic and yet refreshing. It’s something you’ve heard before, but in a new and inventive way.

Creativity pockets itself even into the finite details. Opening with ‘Chekhov’s Gun’ the track brings a looming, ominous feeling to the album with its isolated vocals but then climaxes drastically into an ecstatic Rock anthem. Even looking into the track names, the idea of a Chekhov’s Gun is to consider every aspect of the story as important and Y!KES establish that every detail within this album - from the music videos to the album artwork - there’s meaning to it and fans should take time to investigate.

While this EP doesn’t fall flat on delivering some mouth-watering Rock anthems, it’s slower tracks like ‘Repeat The Objective’ and ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ strip back the band’s vulnerability. The soulful lyricisms and thoughtful vocals make these particular tracks sit on your chest, yet they also show the boundlessness of the band’s versatility in delivering beyond “generic fast Rock.” Credit where credit is due, the songwriting is on par with that of a bigger band with a large production budget.

Ending on ‘Spitfire Salute’, it feels like a fitting ending as it goes out with one last, triumphant bang. If I were to air any grievances perhaps it would be the repetition, the verses and choruses fall into the trap of bleeding almost too heavily into one another that you can easily forget where you’re at because it seems to sound the same. That being said, there is some leeway for production value being their first release as an unsigned, DIY band that’s still establishing themselves in this industry.

Overall the EP is catchy, upbeat and an easy favourite for music fans.