Yashin

Put Your Hands Where I Can See Them

Written by: TL on 20/02/2010 00:46:00

Last year, Yashin was a relatively unknown emo band from Scotland, one among many from the UK whose EP we here at Rockfreaks.net liked, yet didn't make THAT much note of, other than to remark upon the band's considerable similarity to Funeral For A Friend and our own Trusted Few. That changed significantly some two weeks ago however, when it dawned upon us that not only had Yashin exchanged one singer for two new ones, they'd also just released a debut album and were coming to play a show near us. Something to look into for sure, right?

Right indeed, because "Put Your Hands Where I Can See Them" has turned out to be a debut album that sees Yashin step up to eat at the table for bands that people care about. If you haven't joined their bandwagon yet then (you should) I can tell you that they play a no nonsense art of party-core, driven by energetic post-hardcore riffs, hyper melodic tapped leads and mega-catchy choruses. That may sound like something you've heard before, but when "PYHWICST" delivers eleven tracks, six of which kick ass from here to Scotland and four of which are hardly let downs either, who honestly gives a shit?

Except for the many tapped guitar leads, the feeling of FFAF-clone the band carried on their previous outing has (sadly?) gone missing, and comparisons must first and foremost be drawn to The Blackout, as the cheeky, shameless clean/scream dynamic is exactly the kind of party starting experience they tend to stand for, however, Yashin have about as much awesomeness packed into the tracks on their one album as TBO have on their two! Consistency? Check!

As such, "Let It Go", "Remember Me", "Stand Up", "Down, But Homeward Bound" and "36 Hours" all put choruses in your mind faster than you can even say the word "memorable" out loud, and those are the songs which will be instant fan-makers in a live environment, as you can pretty much sing along from first listen (even if the latter's main riff seems blatantly borrowed from somewhere.. here maybe? no?). Then there's the album's intro which is flat out perfect. I normally hate intros, and truth be told, I am annoyed as hell that this particular slab of awesomeness didn't make it into a full song, but as it is, it gets you pumped for the album in exactly the way an intro should. Likewise, I hate pop covers, and Yashin close their album with Britney Spear's "Every Time", but hey, again, when it sounds this cool, I can't really complain all that much. Of the things standing out a bit less we have "Black Summer", the slowest song on the record, which proves that Yashin have some work to do yet, if they want to really have an impact with more serious songs like this one, and "Hope", the chorus of which just isn't up to par with the rest. Fortunately, the latter is saved by some of the best tapped delicacy on the disc around the second chorus, and likewise, "Get Loose!" and "Friends In High Places", both also a little light around the choruses, are also brought home by catchy verses and kickass riffage respectively.

So no, there's not much to complain about here but details too small and insignificant to have much impact. Like I said earlier, Yashin step up with this disc, and deliver a debut that rips almost from end to end, and while there isn't that much to be had by means of originality or depth of expression, when something rocks this much, you'd be a foolish little elitist to let that turn you away from this party. Considering that I now also know for a fact, that Yashin bring it live, the only thing left to say is this: If you like to rock out, then you'd be rewarded for becoming a Yashin fan as fast as possible. A record packed to the point of bursting with songs that take over your rotation for days and days speaks against anyone arguing the opposite.

8

Download: "Let It Go", "Remember Me", "Stand Up", "Down, But Homeward Bound"
For The Fans Of: The Blackout, Funeral For A Friend, Escape The Fate
Listen: myspace.com/theyashin

Release Date 01.02.2010
*UNSIGNED BAND*

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