Yuma House
by Grant Moser
March 1998
DCMusicwwweb
I had a hard time writing this review. Yuma House is a good band. They really are.
But they haven't quite crossed the line to great yet.
They are the type of band you'd hear on 99.1 and say, "Who is that again?" That familiar radio R.E.M./ Lemonheads/Weezer/ Yogaberry/Matthew Sweet sound is perhaps what's holding them back.
But "Yuma House" has some gems tucked away. Some songs that are unique.
Like "out of my hands", that captures the tension and energy they were toying with on earlier songs. This quick, fast, poppy song is constructed well. The tight guitar work and the in-sync sound of the vocals come across great: "Regret the past/But you don't have to/But it's not my problem". Brasek's bare voice leads to a guitar-led crescendo chorus, that later on in the song they maintain constantly - giving the sense of a culmination, or a release.
"annmarie" is stripped down playing with a solid beat that incorporates a great childhood like rhyming chorus, "Let's go to the city/Let's go to museums/Let's go to dinner/and who knows what we'll find." This simple song incorporates the idea of finding someone and understanding what they (and you) need. The tune rises and swells until it bursts out into a full-grown, steaming-ahead song, supported by good guitar work and a catchy drumbeat.
"audiophile" is arguably the best of these songs. With a loud and fast beginning that slows down to a quirky background tune, "audiophile" is addictive. "If I was a paperback would you ever put me down?...If I were a radio would you ever turn me on?...I'm just a record and you're not much of an audiophile," examines the need/hate relationship between the audience and the musician. The band wants to not do covers, but the listener won't pay attention if they don't know the song. A wonderful catch-22 how music is treated differently than other forms of media.
Perhaps Yuma House should follow their own advice from "audiophile" and stop trying to please and fit in so much with some of their tunes, and perform more songs like those above. Their innovative and unique sounds are wonderful and refreshing.
As the album progresses, Yuma House seems more comfortable with their songs and each other, and consequently, better. Yuma House is like any other band struggling to get recognized, and with this debut cd, they have a good beginning.