Brighton may be famous for its pebble beaches and day‑tripping Londoners, but it also hides a rich, underrated musical soul. From David Gilmour, who made the town one of his homes, to Queen’s explosive Brighton Rock, the city has left deep marks on music history. The story of Yonaka also begins in Brighton, a young band clearly destined to leave a mark in the galaxy of contemporary rock with the full‑length album Until You’re Satisfied, released in March via Distiller Records.
The new album of Yonaka, Until You’re Satisfied
Although this is only their second full record (not counting mixtapes and EPs), the band has been active since 2014 – an experience that began on the college benches of Brighton and was consolidated through a shared musical taste that pushed them to form a winning project. Right from the start, the group stood out for their energy and style, clearly expressed in their acclaimed 2019 debut album Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, which placed them among the rising stars of English alternative rock.
“Alternative” captures perfectly the expressive freedom
Rarely has a genre label fitted an artistic sensibility so well. Although such narrow categorisation does not suit the band’s broad versatility, “alternative” captures perfectly the pronounced expressive freedom of these musicians who have found their comfort zone, if you can call it that, in a complex miscellany of sounds and colours, ready to develop into a fascinating melodic plurality. Frontwoman Theresa Jarvis, a volcanic vocalist with a charismatic stage presence, is undoubtedly the driving force of the band, thanks to a highly expressive vocal timbre that can shift from delicate to aggressive and is absolutely magnetic, especially in its melodic nuances.
Until You’re Satisfied: challenging the stereotype of love
Nor should George Werbrouck‑Edwards’s guitar work and Alex Crosby’s bass, keyboards and synthesizers be overlooked. Over the years, the trio seems to have explored enough to find its own sonic identity in a high‑impact form, moving with great ease between hard‑rock moments that recall legends such as Led Zeppelin and the grunge inflections of bands like Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains. The title deliberately plays with the theme of satisfaction, challenging the stereotype of love to highlight its most mischievous and controversial sides – domination, obsession, ferality, seduction, jealousy and regret.
Until You’re Satisfied: an enthralling record
Because love is a fun game, but often an unfair one: a game that is anything but friendly, where the thirst to win often prevails. And it is devoted to nothing more than personal satisfaction. Personally, I find Until You’re Satisfied, an enthralling record, full of a spontaneous and instinctive creativity in which the concession to classical rock emerges only in the short Intro (which partly recalls Muse‘s New Born). Before catapulting itself into a sharper sound, driven by the powerful guitar riffs of Problems, the first single, with its dark‑hued grunge veins, and by the impetuous lashes shared between guitars, keyboards and Jarvis’s vocal flashes in Cruel.
The development of the album
In reality, the development of the album opens up a range of sound possibilities, with an incredible succession of scenarios, ranging from the almost arabesque tones of Miss Millennial to the funky‑disco feel and biting bass of Trouble Follows. Alt‑rock and psychedelia meet in Eat You Alive, a song with an evocative chorus that, in this writer’s opinion, is destined – together with Problems – to become a chart hit. The ballad Best Of Me, with Jarvis once again in the spotlight, is probably one of the most engaging and heartfelt moments of the track list, which also allows itself some dance‑floor flourishes and light‑heartedness with At The Beach.
The final call to grit your teeth
Hit Me When I’m Sore steers the album back toward the painful reflection that accompanies every scar, but also seems to gather the strength for a final declaration of self‑determination. Bite The Bullet and Try are, in fact, the final call to grit your teeth because in the end the only satisfaction you can gain from this game without winners is survival – and, above all, the awareness of having tried and having learned something new from which to start again.
Closing words for Until You’re Satisfied
When they conceived Until You’re Satisfied, Yonaka decided to introduce an atypical concept to rock, both in terms of sound and message. With great courage and a desire to astonish, this work takes romance to the next level, folding in on its contradictions to shed light on the darker corners of our society, above all the fear of disappointing others. Fortunately, not everyone is trapped in this vicious circle – starting with this album which, rest assured, will not disappoint.
Track List
- Intro
- Problems
- Cruel
- Miss Millennial
- Eat You Alive
- Trouble Follows
- Best Of Me
- Stay A Little While Longer
- At The Beach
- Do It For You
- Hit Me When I’m Sore
- Bite The Bullet
- Try
Line Up
- Theresa Jarvis – Vocals
- Alex Crosby – Bass guitar / Keyboards / Synthesizer
- George Werbrouck Edwards – Guitars / Keyboards / Synthesizer