By Maxwell Silver
You probably won’t hear the latest singles from the band, The Yours, on any other major indie blog or website, but the Lona Records recording artist from Hong Kong got our attention with two tracks they sent us from The Way We Were, which officially dropped last Saturday, September 15th. In fact, a search of The Hype Machine found no recent entries for The Yours.
The Yours have been touted as one of the most promising bands in Hong Kong for quite some time, but it took seven years to deliver their debut LP. The band’s sound is an interesting mix of shoegaze, psychedelic rock, and post punk pop layered with melodic, fuzzy guitar licks, hard-hitting percussion and disaffected lyrics delivered with reverb-heavy vocals modeled after their favorite bands – Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine.
Hot and humid, bitter and sweet. The Yours translates the subtropical summer of Hong Kong into a rich wall of noise featuring raw, sprawling punk rock sensibilities. Having supported the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Drums, Yuck and British Sea Power following the 2005 release of their well-received debut EP, Abraham, the band’s lineup evolved alongside its composing structure where they derive inspiration from shared admiration of their favorite 80’s and 90’s alternative rock bands. Their debut is a 13-song album that “resonates the deviation and devotion of adolescent angst.”
The first track, “Honey Treats,” is undoubtably one of the stand-out tracks released in the past week (a week of incredible singles from new album drops). In an interview with Time Out, band members Jack Leung, Nic Wong, Tim Ng, Gwyneth Tang and Nelson Ko provided a brief introduction to each song on their long-awaited debut album. Regarding “Honey Treats,” it “could be the most radio-friendly song we have. We feel like we’re sucked into a spiral of nostalgia every time we play this guitar ‘solo’ part. Though we must have played this a hundred times, we still feel just as overwhelmed.”
“Honey Treats” – The Yours from The Way We Were
The band about “Straighthead,” the second single: “This is probably the catchiest song on the album yet it was created from the frustration we felt from people who just don’t ‘get it’. Music-wise, it’s our version of The Smiths trying to be like Dinosaur Jr.”
“Straighthead” – The Yours from The Way We Were
Bonus Track: “Slip Out” – The Yours from The Way We Were