– GUERRILLA WARFARE –

Not to be confused for a leading brand of colon-cleansing probiotic drink, Yakul are a Brighton-based four piece who specialise in balls-out-of-the-bath beefed-up jazz and their latest release, Blossoming sees them hitting full bloom.

Lead by vocalist / pianist James Berkeley (a cool, croony mix of Jamie Cullum and Tom Misch) the band’s battering-ram backing comes from Tom Caldwell-Nichols on bass, Sam Hughes on drums and Leo Utton on guitar.

Blossoming is the fourth major release from the collective and by far their most upbeat. All offbeat stabs and pop-polished whoa-oh vocals it’s a track to kick-back, kick-off or cop-out to from start to finish.

However, very much unlike the astrologically-challenged Venessa Williams, Yakul save the best for last with the song’s outro. My drum teacher used to say that you knew you’d nailed the ending of a song if it took you a few hours to get it right; these lads must have spent a solid week working out all the intricacies to the end of this. You’ll never be happy listening to a ‘repeat until fade’ ever again.

No word of an album release as yet so consider yourself an early adopter if Blossoming gets you on the band’s wagon.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

BRYONY JARMAN-PINTO: SUNKISSED
DEVON GILFILLIAN: GET OUT AND GET IT
PARK JIHA: ON WATER
THEOPHILUS LONDON: SEALS – SOLO

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –