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YULO: “Yes”

Plenty of bands all over Japan try to mimic the Brit-rock sound that dominated the entirety of the Oughts and still sorta do. It’s a very vague style, probably best summed up as “trying to sound like that first Bloc Party album” featuring mainly guitars, though a few brave souls dragged synths into the mix down the line. YULO’s “Yes” starts off in this familiar territory, introducing a bass groove that soon blossoms into a full-on strut that would make Franz Ferdinand proud. It sounds good, but nothing thrilling. Turn your attention to lead-singer 三上紗恵子. She boasts a commanding voice that can go from easy-on-the-ears talk-sing to a triumph shout very quickly, and she uses both extremes on “Yes.” The song’s best moment comes at the chorus, where the shout comes out and she belts out a dizzying collection of “yes”-es. Listen here.