Yellow House have been a buffaBLOG favorite since their 2016 debut. After a short period of inactivity, the self-proclaimed “overblown shoegaze” act is back, boasting the blend of shoegaze-meets-punk-meets-emo that we’ve all come to love and expect from them. Their latest offering is entitled III, a four-song EP that is as refreshingly simple as it is mysterious.
III was recorded across two sessions across the spring and winter of 2017 and finds the duo chasing a more vocally driven mix than its predecessors… The songs explore themes of nostalgia, hopelessness, and existentialism, case-in-point, EP opener “Walking Away.” In a minute-and-a-half of fuzzed-out guitar riffs, drums, singer/songwriter Matt DiStasio sings about feeling empty-headed and unmotivated. Similar vibes can be found on EP closer, “On Sunday.” Beneath the crunchy tones and smart riffing, it’s clear DiStasio is battling the ennui of day-to-day drabness.
EP highlight “Montana” is a bit more nuanced, bringing to mind wall-of-sound shoegazers My Bloody Valentine or the swelling drone-tones of Slowdive. DiStasio paints the most specific imagery on III in this song; he yearns to return to a simpler way of life, waxing poetic about money-less, alcohol-fueled, good-time trips through Montana and South Dakota. Uncannily specific lines like, “memories of dirty pants and ticks in the laundry basket” really drive this one home – fictional or not, DiStasio makes you want to return to that place and time with him.
III is currently available via Bandcamp where it is offered at a “name your price” rate. Swing by and give Yellow House the love they deserve