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Monday 20 August 2012

Record Review - The Lykes Of Yew

THE LYKES OF YEW
All Cities

Beltaine CD / download

The latest single from UK blues/punk outfit The Lykes Of Yew, 'All Cities Must Burn', kicks off with a sound that at first had me thinking of REM if they were a little angrier and uglier but on subsequent listens there’s a drawl to lead singer D. Jonathon Jones' voice that for some reason reminds me of John Lydon and P.I.L. in the late 80s, the anger and fear fairly dripping out of the speakers. It'’s a strange combo I know but it works.

The two live tracks 'Waiting For Mr. Death' and 'Bad Juju' confirm my suspicions that for this outfit there'’s a lot more punk than blues in their lives. 'Waiting For Mr. Death' wouldn’t sound out of place on one of those KBD or Hyped To Death compilations, the recording is raw and mean, adding a real threat to the sound. 'Bad Juju' treads a similar path but with a little more melody cos these boys can play, it ain’t sloppy or underdone but there’s a mean streak, a threat to the sound that holds it all together. Hell if you found this single at the back of a rack in some second hand shop you'’d think you struck 80s punk gold. Don’t wait for this band to appear on a compilation in 20 years time, be ahead of the pack and grab it now.

Kami McInnes

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