The YuYa – LP review – A Boy, A Queen & A Fish

The YuYa has a new fourteen track LP out towards the end of September 2012 entitled  A Boy, A Queen & A Fish. It has been just over a year since we looked at The YuYa, which means an update is more than due.

Opening with the delightful It’s Better, which was reviewed back last year and sounds as summer evening fresh now as then.

The second track – Stone Cold Lover finds the band in a smoke filled blues bar with a moody and sublimely crafted track with the driving lower resonances keeping the track moving forward whilst the crystal clear vocal soars above the instruments.

Kill Lucy threads back to the reggae / jazz roots which is delivered at break neck speed as though tripping on amphetamines.

Next comes Light – a track that sees the band in a whole new perspective this demonstrates the strength of the duo as they take the album in to a completely different and far more dramatic (musically speaking) space. With mellifluous melodies floating from the speakers.

You may recall when I reviewed It’s Better, I mentioned that A Boy, A Queen & A Fish was set for release in October 2011, but The YuYa has been busy, so the release is only just now set for public consumption, delayed but very welcome.

Queenfish resonates with a sea-shanty feel that has the listener swaying like a nodding dog.

An Ode is, well quite simply fun to hear. drawing references from dub reggae dashed with snippets of tango, it is a sound that just makes you glad this is only track six on the LP.

Maybe heads back to the jazz reggae fusion with which they work so well, providing the vocals an opportunity to sear out of the speakers to smack the listener across the chops.

Sadly we are now at the halfway point through the release with Boy In Blue leading the way towards the conclusion as the music takes you by the hand and leads you round the dance-floor to a sultry samba.

Cage is an interesting and worthwhile diversion as The YuYa appear to have written an action film musical score with a thumping drive and atmosphere driving in to the ears.

It is interesting to find that The YuYa have spent some considerable time in Italy as A Boy, A Queen & A Fish actually reminds me of sounds more reminiscent of the South Coast of France - Marseilles to be more exact and I’m in the Know is perhaps the epitome of that reference point, a superb composition and for me the highlight of the release.

Stacy pulls out the open fret-work that makes the band so much fun to hear. Individual notes are left to hang in the air, each given the space to float past the ear before being followed by the slightest of pauses which just captivates the listener.

2+1=3 is not my favourite track, although it contains some gorgeous textures. Perhaps it is just it’s location on the LP, where the busy notes seem to jar against Stacy and it takes the ears a moment to adjust.

Crazy on the other hand I could play on perpetual loop. The guitar and vocal work in perfect syncopation and the steps of the song I just wish would extend for far longer.

Now, I find myself with a bone to pick over the naming of the last track on the release – When The Music Is Over… Alcohol. In my view this is an album that is best enjoyed with a glass of wine. A smooth track resonating of all that has gone past in the previous three quarters of an hour, this is a fine performance and a great way to see out A Boy, A Queen & A Fish.

I hope we don’t have to wait another year for their next full length release. If you missed them on their extensive UK and Italian festival appearances, I would recommend that the next time you see The YuYa playing near you, take the time and enjoy the ride of rock, reggae, folk and jazz to an acoustic guitar and superb vocal.

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