Released: 18th September 2020
Rating: ★★★★
Would you have put your money on the new Yellow Days album sounding like a cross between Motown, funk, smooth R&B, Kendrick Lamar and Anderson. Paak? Probably not, but it’s that exact reason which makes Yellow Days’ return rather exciting. With a debut album that hinted at the sounds and influences that peppered his steak, ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’ feels like the main course. A grand, overflowing world of ideas and bubbling detours, it’s the moment Yellow Days steps into the open and says – look at me now.
At 23 tracks long, ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’ sets its stall out as an album to dive into and revel in every tint of its world. Gloriously vibrant with modern soul pouring from its every note, it’s a rich and warm embrace that leaves you all fuzzy inside whilst merging different eras into one glorious pudding. Interspersed with interludes and sounding like you’ve just tuned in to listen to an artist broadcasting to the world from his smoke-filled bar surrounded by an effortlessly tight band, it’s a true voyage. ‘Let You Know’ is a slinky thrust of swagger, ‘Who’s There’ packs the sort of baseline that’d knock out most who attempt to fight it and ‘Getting Closer’ practically bubbles with hypnotic smoothness. Underneath its sun-kissed brightness lies a gritty undertone, but it’s sheer colour is undeniable. ‘The Curse’, featuring one Mac DeMarco is a strutting and intoxicating gulp of wonky-songwriter spins, whilst ‘Let’s Be Good To Each Other’ feels like a long-lost Stevie Wonder gem. ‘Treat You Right’ and ‘Love Is Everywhere’ capture the results perfectly, for an album that nobody could have seen coming but now will be overjoyed exists.
Artists have gone through reinventions before. The very best, those who survive much longer than the rest tend to make it a necessity – and on ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’, Yellow Days shows just what he’s been sitting on. An extended trip in ever sense of the term, ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’ is the era-smashing opus you never saw coming.
Jamie Muir
