Yumi and the Weather – It’s All In My Head Review

Indie pop is not slowing down any time soon, but for artists like Yumi and the Weather, it is a mere placeholder while they work out a stronger style. It’s All In My Head is a good piece, working well to showcase some very solid efforts on a sophomore album release. Imagine crashes through with a promise to “roll the dice” and to “roll it with you”. In an ego-trip sort of way, it is nice to think that roll of the dice is between listener and collective artist – because the roll of the dice here aims at finding a sound fitting of the indie genre, but also prepares to burst away from it when the time is right.

That time may be now for Yumi and the Weather, whose harsh and heavy rock sound draws parallels with the very best of the genre at stages. Clarity cuts through on the title track of It’s All In My Head, a roaringly good track that steers Yumi and the Weather toward what they are best at. Sharp, articulate beats that last no more than a couple of minutes. That consistency is not quite as steady on Howl, but it gives way to some good lyrical stylings to pair with the instrumental work Ruby Taylor manages here. Cues of new wave shine through too, a barely audible synth beneath that cymbal-bashing drum kit and the electronic shadings of the vocal. All of that comes together nicely, it is the unheard backbone, like the acoustic guitar and laser beam effects on Pulp’s Common People.

Those two tracks have nothing to do with one another beyond the technical merits and layering that comes with it, but the often-forgotten part of the indie genre is how important that final mix is. It’s All In My Head is packed full of those crucial simplicities. Done well on tracks like Be Your Lover, and Yumi and the Weather can begin exploring other, experimental notions. This is a Taylor project through and through, and it is obvious that in the scattershot sounds that flow through these tracks, that experimentation is at the forefront. What particulars It’s All In My Head picks up on are done fleetingly, exceptionally and with intensity. New Way articulates that uniqueness well with lush vocals and a strong electric guitar presence.

Embers of a real change in motion can be found on It’s All In My Head, a really solid piece of indie work. Start As You Mean To Go On is a standout, almost a challenge, for Yumi and the Weather. Will You Ever Leave My Mind has that infectious quality too. At what point does an album shift gear from having standouts to having that next level of consistency? It’s All In My Head finds out. Edging close to that next level of powerful indie rock, Yumi and the Weather is infectiously interesting, their wall of sound styling, and that loud and bombastic appeal flows through It’s All In My Head. These are tracks that feel natural, interested in their surroundings and their lyrics, but also in pushing forward with style and class that the genre, at its bleakest, loses entirely. Thankfully not here.