Yuma Sun - Watch Us Burn

by Paul Waller

published: 27 / 4 / 2016

Label: Membran
Format: CD

Third full length offering from Norwegian rock outfit Yuma Sun convinces in its earnest country rock leanings but fails to cement a cohesive listen for its entire duration

Review

You wouldn’t expect an album that contains so many western (as in Cowboy and Indians) flavours to be birthed in Norway, but even though there is a great distance of time and miles between the two ‘Watch Us Burn’ comes across as a fairly authentic listen. Yet it’s when Yuma Sun stray from the country flavours the band are at their most successful. ‘Give Me Faver’ is a prime example. There is a sneaky garage punk attitude that slips in thanks to the Nick Cave-esque delivery from vocalist Jaran Hereid as he lays down a defiant and authoritative menace to proceedings. At times I even find splashes of the Cramps infecting the grooves here with this unhinged swaggering attack Once again the more traditional indie rock construction blocks that Yuma Sun build ‘Judas Tree’ from reward the listener with a blistering anthem that for my money should be opening this album not lingering around in in the middle of it. It pulls you in and demands you listen, forcing you to punch your fist in the air. Unfortunately ‘War Has Begun’ adds little to the whole, and the same goes for ‘Violets to Stone’. Sometimes a great chorus needs to be backed up with an equally impressive verse and time and time again it’s these essential parts that fail to connect, just repeating a phrase such as “This is Hell” is lazy, especially when the self-titled closing track is a cleverly constructed downbeat killer of a tune. So, you know the band is able to deliver the goods. It’s just not consistently that way. Maybe next time.

Track Listing:-

1 St. Louise
2 Give Me Fever
3 Josephine
4 Violets to Stone
5 Judas Tree
6 Mary
7 King of Light
8 War Has Begun
9 The Hospital
10 High Road
11 Watch Us Burn