Jacksonville’s Yuno has been making heads turn of late since Shabazz Palaces‘ Ishmael Butler A&R’d him for Sub Pop. On his first release on the label, the songwriter whose parents are British-Jamaican showed his strength at crafting sunny, breezy indie pop that cools the sweat from your brow on a hot day on “No Going Back.” So, it’s appropriate that his latest offering, “Why For,” does a complete left turn from what was expected from the emerging artist.
“Why For” is considerably more visceral than Yuno’s first single, with the obvious comparison being the work of Ellery James Roberts both in the now-defunct Wu Lyf and his current project LUH. The comparison can be heard in its sweeping exhilarating peaks and the mangled, barely decipherable vocal performance. That isn’t to say Yuno is simply copping someone else’s style, as his voice, you know, doesn’t sound like it was put down the garbage disposal.
“Why For” comes with an accompanying video, which Yuno directed. He describes it as follows:
“The video is kind of a visual representation of what I felt while creating the song. A collage of memories, drifting through different moods and trying to figure out a way to make it all make sense.”
Yuno’s first collection of songs for Sub Pop, Moodie, is due out on June 15. Check out “Why For” above.
