A head-bopping soundtrack to escaping reality. Yves Tumor saves the genre of genre-defying music, yet again.
God all art-rock musicians, Yves Tumor released a new album on March 17th: a powerful and spiritual piece worthy of its incredibly long and captivating title.
With a Bowie-inspired look and a solid musical inspiration from Prince, Yves Tumor manages to sell themselves as an artist who keeps the classics alive, reimagining them through the lens of a different generation, while also being completely unique and necessary to the industry.
The album is overall very cohesive, presenting experimental and indie influences but primarily showcasing Tumor’s love for classic rock. Praise a Lord is able to transport its audience to a different time and reality.
The album opens with God is a Circle. A great opening to set the tone for an energetic album – an earthly scream, followed by rhythmic heavy breathing, welcomes the listener is Tumor’s world.
The track is a fast one, perfect for some spontaneous, erratic dancing, and although the heavy breathing is used as background noise throughout the entire 3:32 minutes, it is, somehow, not unsettling. Even without a crescendo, the track’s rhythm is fully transcendent and will get your heart pumping.
Being one of few vocalists who excel in low notes, many of their verses are spoken word, constructing quite a universally accessible sexual reality.
Praise a Lord does offer some tracks in the pop genre, such as Lovely Sewer: Its intro can be considered quite similar to many songs on the charts, playing around with the popularity of video games by including sounds that resemble some special battlefield.
However, in true Tumor style, the listener is transported to a different era by the middle of the song. In fact, the chorus is that of a 90s emo-rock vibe. The lyrics are quite peculiar as well: it’s a love song as well as a conversation between lovers who are in awe of each other’s minds, an angle that is rarely used in today’s music.
Meteora Blues is one of the most exciting tracks on the record, starting off with an acoustic guitar and quite distant vocals, but later becoming a classic rock song, with all of the guitar solos and heavy drums. The vocal accompaniment fits the energy perfectly and together they deliver an emotional roller-coaster of a song
If you’re looking for a softer sound, similar to their older albums, Parody is the track for you. Presenting softer, more R&B sounds, while pointing fingers at society’s hypocrisy, a topic that is not easy to discuss on a track which isn’t hard rock or ballad-like. The song reminds us of Tumor’s Heaven to a Tortured Mind ( 2020), arguably their most commercially successful album and the one that brought in most of the artist’s newest fans. In particular, the beautifully executed falsetto gives the song a Gambino-ish essence from his Awaken My Love era.
Operator is by far the most Prince-inspired song on the album, specifically post. Purple Rain Prince. With almost animal-sounding vocal roars, Operator is an incredibly rare and brave song to introduce in this century. The artist successfully delivers a track that transcends through time and can be enjoyed by all types of listeners.
Ending with Ebony Eye, drums and saxophone take over, carrying this final tune and tying together the masterful album. This last song is a fully immersed experience that leaves the listened with a hopeful feeling: the Miami-born artist has kept fans tuned in throughout a journey of self-awakening and realisation, making Praise a Lord another, more fluid (both instrumentally and lyrically), chapter to the story, with many more to come.
Featured Image Credit: Yves Tumor
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