Swell EP: Yuck - Southern Skies EP [indie rock / shoegaze / dream pop]

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Not many bands consider moving forward with their project or have the fans' support to do so after losing a lead singer, but London's "90s rock revival" quartet Yuck managed to bounce back with style and plenty of listeners after the departure of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Blumberg (currently recording as Hebronix) one year ago. Last September saw their strong Blumberg-less sophomore comeback Glow & Behold, with which the band managed to prove that putting guitarist Max Bloom behind the microphone full-time wouldn't change the nostalgic, fuzzy indie rock that makes them Yuck. Hell, Bloom actually had lead vocals on a couple of my favorite songs from their 2011 self-titled debut (see "Operation").

As if surprising fans and critics alike with a successful recovery wasn't enough, seven months later Yuck are back with a new release entitled Southern Skies EP. This record brings us four new Yuck songs, two of which don't really sound like anything explored on the previous two full-lengths. The soaring opening track "Athena" wouldn't have been out of place on Glow & Behold and the EP's most energetic song, "Another One", takes me all the way back to 2011's Yuck. The two remaining songs open up new sonic possibilities for the band. The second track "Set In Motion (Let's Say We Did)" is mostly foreign to the ear for Sebastian Fors's guest vocals and its twangy psych-pop feel, while the gorgeous title track hints at a dreamier, more subdued future for Yuck's infectious sound waves.

Stream the Southern Skies EP below and download your own copy now via iTunes.

Just Rolled In: Hebronix (ex-Yuck) - "Unreal" [indie rock / slowcore]

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One week after hearing the upsetting news that London-based Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg (sitting on the bike above) has decided to leave his outstanding 90s indie rock revival band "to focus on other things", our chins are lifted (or possibly left in the 'shoegazing' position) by the Yuck-y sounds of his new "thing", Hebronix.

Blumberg's new music sounds an awful lot like Yuck but with the slower tendencies of his piano-based solo project Oupa. While the remaining 3 members of Yuck are still set to record their second LP without Blumberg, ATP Recordings will release Hebronix's debut effort Unreal July 8, which is produced by Neil Hagerty (pictured with Blumberg above) of Royal Trux/Howling Hex fame. Appropriately, Hebronix and fellow slowcore indie rockers Low have hooked up to play a handful of shows around the UK for the rest of April.

Listen to the eponymous single from Hebronix's debut Unreal  below followed by a song by Blumberg's former band Yuck and his other solo project Oupa. Pre-order Unreal here.