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Released: 16th July 2021
Rating: ★★★★
The spiky, spunky foursome of Yonaka are never ones to rest easy. Punching their way back into the world with a new mixtape – not an album, mind you – Yonaka have some things to get off their chest. Having been toiling away to give their already locked ‘n’ loaded sound a rumbling beat-laden spanking new sound, it’s all very much In Your Face (see: ‘ORDINARY’, ‘SEIZE THE POWER’).
Stomping their way through the weight of the tracks, including a frenetic appearance from Fever 333’s Jason Aalon Butler (Clique), it’s a full-throttle, rapping, rocking and rolling affair. Certainly taking no prisoners, if that wasn’t clear before, it doesn’t quite fully hit the mark in all cases. ‘Raise Your Glass’ feels a bit odd, in a could-be-in-a-musical way, deferring away from the more focused ‘fight the power’ theme. Still, there’s oodles of attitude. ‘Greedy Master’ and its rolling thunder does the job of attacking the music industry (or any industry for that fact) and not far from being Karl Marx’s wrestling anthem (where he, y’know, a wrestler).
Most surprising is the careening crash into the piano-led, orchestrally reserved closer ‘Anthem’, where promises of “we’re an army now, and you can’t take us down” ring loud. It’s Yonaka’s statement of intent for what’s next. They want you to hear the sincerity. They yearn for their’s, and the world’s success, and most importantly it’s a call to arms to grab the power by the throat and take it all back.
