Yonaka are one of the hottest bands to come out of Brighton in recent years. The rock quartet, comprised of Theresa Jarvis (vocals), George Edwards (guitar), Alex Crosby (bass guitar) and Robert Mason (drums) formed in our home town, some four years ago. The band have been busy touring and recording, making big waves in the industry, even signing to Asylum Records (part of Warner Music Group). Now, 2019 sees the release of their debut album, Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow. Here’s what we have to say about it…
Having already received a lot of favourable press and released the successful EP, Creature, in 2018, the pressure was on for Yonaka to produce a hard-hitting debut album. Luckily though, the band have delivered a piece of work that really packs a punch, demonstrating just how much potential they have and what a great career they have ahead of them.
From opening track, ‘Bad Company’, with Theresa’s wonderful falsetto vocals and the captivating, accompanying instrumental, the album never fails to impress!
For a fledgling band, it’s so easy for their songwriting to be immature and instrumentation to be lacking in diversity, but that’s where Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow truly stands out. ‘Awake’ is a truly grungy, lyrically cutting track, whilst ‘Guilty (For Your Love)’ displays anthemic rock song qualities, sure to have crowds singing it back to them.
Some other songs to really take note of: ‘Lose Our Heads’ is a rather commercial offering and could easily find its way to mainstream radio, ‘Creature’ has a rock-out feeling that is sure to get audiences moving and ‘Punch Bag’ is a high-energy, no holds barred, knockout track that shows Theresa is just not someone you mess with!
Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow is ambitious and undoubtedly a strong debut, delivered with conviction and tenacity…
Title track, ‘Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow’, very much feels like a modern-day incarnation of Blondie and ‘Fired Up’ could easily be a new direction taken by No Doubt; all of which just goes to show how this could easily be the album a band with a lengthy career already behind them…not their debut!
‘Wake Up’ is a surprising track with its dreamy, almost ethereal feel and is a song to get completely lost in – it could happily sit on repeat and never get boring.
However, probably the best track on the record has to be ‘Rockstar’; the song wonderfully encapsulates Yonaka right now and manages to be chaotic and exhilarating, whilst also be cool and composed. It’s a song that could suit so many moods and sees Theresa forcefully singing, “I just wanna be a rock star, baby,” something the band can rest assured that this debut is sure to help them achieve.
The album draws to a synth-driven close with ‘The Cure’ – a track which leaves the listening hanging and certain to come back for another listen.
Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow is ambitious and undoubtedly a strong debut, delivered with conviction and tenacity and certain to pave the way for one of Britain’s newest and most exciting rock bands! Bring on the tours and roll on album number 2!
Rating
‘Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow’ is out now and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://music.apple.com/gb/album/dont-wait-til-tomorrow/1451808477
Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow on Spotify
Lose Our Heads (Official Live Video)
Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow (Official Live Video)
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of this band’s debut album, Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.
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