ALBUM REVIEW: Yes, And… – ’68
’68 are living proof of the old adage ‘less is more’. For 10 years now, the Josh Scogin led duo (Nikko Yamada rounds out the pair on drums) have been a shotgun blast of mayhem, their math-flecked bluesy hardcore surprising and delighting on each outing.
For their fourth album Yes, And…, ’68 has leaned more into their improvisational live existence; all along they’ve surprised themselves as well as audiences by what they play throughout their show, and now the golden tenet of improv is used to name their album. But rather than these nine tracks being a case of “let’s see what happens on the day”, Yes, And… is a painstakingly sculpted and manicured effort, and easily their best to date.
Hidden behind the storytelling song titles (With Distance Between, Two Captains Sat, Removed Their Hooks, Removed Their Hats, “Let’s Be Friends”, “End This War”, They All Agreed, Then Got Bored, Within The Hour They Were No More) is a cavalcade of twists and turns that will keep listeners on their toes. From the glitchcore breakdowns of The Captains Sat and the church bell-laden doom passages of Removed Their Hooks, to the ominous sparsity of Then Got Bored and space-age closing of Within The Hour, They Were No More, ’68 are never afraid to stray from their lane. Their modus operandi is sonic bombardment, and they’ll stop at nothing to deliver.
Even on the rare occasion that there is a massive, blinking sign telling you what comes next, it is still incredibly effective. The first breakdown on the album can be seen from a mile away as With Distance Between deliberately builds up to it for an age. But think of it this way: if a freight train is hurtling toward you, no matter how far away you spotted it, it still hits with the same force when it eventually reaches you. “Take it to the limit, boys” is ’68‘s speeding locomotive.
And while this has accurately been billed as their heaviest album to date, Yes, And… also contains some of their most melodious work. They All Agreed is a stunning break from madness, inviting you to sink in like a warm bath at the end of a hard day. There’s still a looming air of dread about it with droning, downtuned guitars providing the bed of the track, but Scogin‘s gently lilting repetitions of “Let’s circle back when the tidal wave is gone” are irresistibly hypnotic.
Scogin‘s performance is heroically elastic throughout and Yamada meets him at every junction, his precision and freneticism on the drums adding a mind-boggling layer of madness that allows the two to sound monolithic. They’ve also dialled up their use of background noise, with feedback and distortion crackling in and out at random intervals to keep ’68 sounding like a raw machine.
All in all, Yes, And… is the most ’68 record to date. Scogin and Yamada have taken everything that has worked before and magnified it. This is ’68 squared. You do the maths.
Rating: 8/10
Yes, And… is out now via Pure Noise Records.
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