I like it when a band tells you everything you need to know about them right off the bat. “Yuck” fits this band’s aesthetic pretty damn well. Look at that album cover. Yuck. Turns out, it’s not an inaccurate way to describe the music that they make either. I’m not saying they make bad songs, but rather that their music has a dirty aura to it. The distorted guitars throughout make the album sound like it’s coated in a layer of grease, and the vocals sound as though they just came out of a swamp. Everything comes together in a grimy, dirty, but beautiful record.
The band does shed that force field of nastiness every now and then, though, most notably on tracks Shook Down and Suicide Policeman. The guitars take on a much cleaner sound, which serves as a nice contrast to the heavy distortion found in the rest of the album. However, the band is at its best on the fast, feedback-heavy songs. While it’s hard to pick a favorite on this album, Operation stands out as one of the record’s best. It almost sounds like a The Pains of Being Pure at Heart song, only a lot, lot angrier. Even through its’ quick tempo and heavy distortion, the song remains catchy as hell.
Yuck is a great album by a great new band. They take that coated-in-dirt sound that’s been gaining popularity over the past couple of years, and turn it into something all their own. I’m glad that I’m getting into Yuck at the beginning of its history, as I expect plenty more awesome stuff from the band.
Swole Ear 
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