THE YUMM DEE DAYS. It's all happening

Una mica de tot trobareu en aquest disc que m'ha sorprès per la seva maduresa. Una mica de psicodèlia, una mica de pop surf i unes cançons ben acabades però sense sobreproducció. Per aquí abaix diuen que és una mescla de Beach Boys i Neil Young, amb reminiscències també als primers Pink Floyd. Són paraules majors, jo no m'hagués atrevit a tant però sí que he quedat molt a ple després d'haver-lo assaborit a petites dosis un dia i un altre. Feia estona que el tenia descarregat i encara no li havia tocat, avui és el dia. Si no els coneixíeu aquest és un bon moment, segur que vos cauran igual de bé que a mi. Al seu bandcamp el podeu descarregar pel preu que us vengui bé.

Back when I first started writing for Splintr, I used to do album reviews of stuff I found while trawling around Bandcamp. I haven’t done it in a while, and I actually kind of miss it because otherwise stuff like The Yum Dee Days’ “It’s All Happening” will remain under my radar. Good thing a friend brought them to my attention, which is a separate story in itself.

I come home from a long day at my other job to a Facebook message: “Do you listen to The Yum Dee Days? Because you should.” And this friend of mine knows my taste, so naturally I got curious and googled them and I came across their Bandcamp page. To say that I was blown away by the songs in “It’s All Happening” is an understatement.

With song titles like “The Future Is A Drag”, “King Slacker”, and “U R Heavy”, I was expecting a snarky punk record but I couldn’t be more wrong. The music is a mixture of Beach Boys and Neil Young, something completely not of this time. I needed to learn more about this band. So I searched around the internet, but I couldn’t find anything about them.

No information about who the members are, no interviews, nothing. The only thing I was able to find was another review of this record where the reviewer talks about not finding anything about the band either.

All we have to go on is this record (which CAN be downloaded for free, I might add), and frankly, it’s more than enough.

“It’s All Happening” opens with the psychedelic jam “Everybody Knows, Nobody Cares”. It is three minutes of psychedelic goodness reminiscent of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. It’s only the first song in an album filled with great, memorable songs. The track is followed by the infectious organ-driven pop song “And There’s No Need To Pretend”, and it starts to become clear that we are not dealing with amateurs here. They clearly know what they are doing.

As soon as the bouncy “Hangin’ Out For Days” kicks in, with it’s perfect summertime vibe and beautiful melody, I can’t help but be transported back to the aimless summers of my youth, when me and my friends would “hang out for days”.  Music is at its most special when you connect to it on a technical level and on an emotional level which is exactly what happened with me when I listened to this album for the first time.

Trust me when I say that it doesn’t happen to me a lot.

I didn’t even have to finish listening to this record before I decided that I should write about it. Eloquently or not, I have to write about this. As I am writing this, their anthemic “The Future Is A Drag” is playing on loop for a while now. While I gravitate towards this track the most, “It’s All Happening" is a perfect album with no weak tracks whatsoever. Every song is a high point, and when the incredibly catchy album closer “See About Me” reaches the final note, I can’t help but replay the album. Again. And again. And again. And again. For eternity.

In my review of Queens Of The Stone Age’s “Like Clockwork”, I was a little eager in calling it my favorite album of 2013. I was wrong. This album from a literally unknown band has managed to snag the top spot.

Now if only I can track down The Yum Dee Days so I can thank them and congratulate them for making what may very well be the best album of 2013. By Francis Cabal