Yons - Yons

Yons

Yons
self-released; 2016

3.6 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Yons is an artist from Seattle, Washington. His self-titled release Yons contains an eclectic batch of songs which are all covered in melancholy. I thought some styles worked better than others but overall I felt he had a good amount of success. 

​One of the highlights was the first song “Almost.” It’s starts with a lo-fi recording of what sounds like a young kid which is layered with contemplative guitar picking. I liked the effect and luckily it doesn't get overdone. The recording drops out and is soon replaced by his vocals. He slowly laments, “i've never felt so alive as on the day i almost died. no longer was this all gray, no it was a bright sunny day. all the pain it broke my heart, but maybe life isn't that hard.” Great opener but it really isn’t very indicative of what is around the corner. 

“Steady” is much more ambient and ethereal sounding. It covers the elements in a good amount of reverb and he also successfully sings in a falsetto. I really enjoyed the dream- like qualities to the song. “Bury Me” gets further away from where he started. The song is on the verge of a James Blake style dubstep. His vocals and the beat are the focal points of the music. 

“Take Me With You” has two distinct sections. The first half of the song contains gorgeous, warm orchestral strings and some of his best vocals. I was reminded of the band The Antlers.The second half rocks out like a more ethereal version of Weezer. The lo-fi recording starts to buckle during the second half and I can’t really handle the intensity of the music.  

“Fake Friends” is an odd departure. It’s a lounge-y style groove where he seem to be on the verge of rapping. He closes with “Real Eyes” which is an elven-plus-minute song. The song is one of the most melancholy of the batch. It revolves around piano, vocals and strings for the first half. It transforms into a contemplative mood piece. It brings up the imagery of a lonely night, dim lights and L.A. Noir.

Yons is no doubt talented but his biggest issue at this point is not knowing how to tie his songs together. There was some cohesion amongst some songs but not enough for me to really walk away with a clear understanding of his sound. Overall, I still really enjoyed Yons. There are inspired moments all over this album and those alone are worth the price of admission.

Become A Fan

bandcamp

Click to set custom HTML

Tweet