YAK | LIVE REVIEW
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Thurs 4 Feb
London’s noisy garage trio Yak have, over the last year, gained the reputation of playing insanely loud and visceral gigs across the UK. Scheduled to release their debut album Alas Salvation in May, Yak recently released a little taster for the album with a Black Sabbath Paranoid-inspired video clip for the single Victorious, which really captures the energy of their live performances. Everything seems to be going in the right direction for the band and hopefully they can break the glass circling that most underground bands are limited by.
After the cancellation of their Cardiff date in December due to illness, the band rescheduled for the gig for the new year. This was the main reason the crowd only grew to around 40 people, a statistic that caused my heart to sink slightly, but as soon as Yak walked onto the stage, the crashing explosion of sound filled the room with electrifying energy.
Halfway through, the gig suddenly disintegrated into a swirling mess with kids pushing closer and closer to the stage before breaking out in a moshpit frenzy. Elbows, clenched fists and sweaty headbangs dominated the crowd. Eventually, Yak’s Oliver Burslem climbed onto the amp, guitar still in hand and flung himself onto the cowed. The hands of 17-year-olds carried him around the venue and then back onto the stage in Christ-like fashion. Musically, the band’s crunching fuzz is a breath of fresh air, what with the oversaturation of the clinical clean sound that dominates the indie scene.
One of the hardest things to do is engage a half-full venue; it’s harder still to make a crowd feel like they experienced something special. Yak definitely delivered a really rad experience.
words JAYDON MARTIN