Yuck The Rest

In a small, grungy club in Cambridge, British indie sensation Yuck heralds a return to a simpler, purer and ultimately better form of music. While most bands today compete in an ever more grotesque competition of gimmicks and theatrics, Yuck delivers nothing more than rock, with the stage presence of an 80’s shoegaze group. Yuck knows what their purpose is, they’re not here to dance, act or banter; they’re here to play music, and play it well.

Yuck represents a basic, minimalist music, free of pretension and ego-stroking prose. It’s like rock mixed with Robespierre, and it sets out to guillotine the good Lady Gaga and behead the Kings of Leon. Yuck shows that you don’t need hordes of songwriters and million dollar production values to make great music, just a few instruments and good ideas. It’s a combination of fuzzy guitars and vocals that’s similar to Dinosaur Jr., as well as 90’s rock in general. The influence of grunge luminaries such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam are also evident. If you’re looking for a band that doesn’t care about anything other than sounding good, you may be interested in Yuck.

Yuck may have a 90’s inspired sound, but the stage presence is something out of an 80’s shoegazing textbook. While most bands strut and dance around the stage, hoping to work the audience into an ecstatic frenzy, lead singer Daniel Bloomberg prefers to croon while staring into his microphone or while admiring the dingy floor. This timidity is certainly a part of their charm – the audience was still willing to chant five minutes for an encore, before realizing one would never happen. (The band stealthily peeked out of the door to see if people had left yet.) Despite the lack of movement – or perhaps because of it – their performance was incredibly exciting.  The lo-fi noise rock of their eponymous debut album is ripe for stage. Whether it’s the grungy ballad “Holing Out,” or the almost happy vocals of “Georgia,” Yuck’s music screams to be played live, and preferably at very high volumes.

In many ways, a venue like T.T. the Bear’s is a perfect place for bands like Yuck. The only major elements of the décor are a banner behind the stage, and an ironic disco ball, hanging in a club that has clearly never hosted a disco act. The presence of the massive sound system serves to make the stage into a kind of an auditory altar. These speakers are also perfect for blasting Yuck’s distorted guitar wails and raw, emotional vocals directly into the craniums of the audience.

Yuck is a great band, but combined with the right venue, the experience has the chance to become truly legendary. Yuck the rest.