“See, I just wanna know, will you be by my side?” asks the voice of experimental producer and musician Sean Bowie in the chorus of one of the most powerful tracks on their new album, In Spite of War. By the time you get to this song chronologically (number eight on the tracklist) you will have realised that this is Yves Tumor's best work to date. That chorus, that crescendo of drums that never stops exploding and exploding. Their artistic approach has always been experiential; this time the listener feels even more included in this heated journey given the performative element of this rock album; “Can you spell it out for us? run it back in slow motion” asks Sean on the tongue in cheek track Parody. It's great to hear them sing ‘in slow motion’ and for the song to end exactly like that.
Is there such a thing as optimistic shoegaze? This album is exciting, fresh and cool. It feels like Yves Tumor's work is completely new, like a new approach to fantasy. Rock, lo-fi, punk... Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) is a party where the musical genres are fluid and clever. In a way it's The Rocky Horror Picture Show of pop music in 2023.
Yves Tumor elevate their underground element by exercising the subtle, far from the obvious. Synthesisers provide the loco-motion. The guitars are boisterous yet quite glamorous. The percussion is absolutely insane. Here Prince meets The Kills meets Self Esteem meets Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Only edgier and more camp.