Release Date: July 15, 2022
Genre: Pop Punk, Pop Rock, Rock
Label: UNFD
The Sydney, Australian pop-punkers Yours Truly have returned with their latest seven-song offering, is this what i look like?, which will be released through the Australian indie record label UNFD. Yours Truly -made up of vocalist Mikaila Delgado, guitarist Teddie Winder-Haron, guitarist Lachlan Cronin, and drummer Brad Cronan- have always been a sonic powerhouse and have delivered banger after banger over the last few years. With the songs on is this what i look like?, the four-piece ultimately began to push the envelope to their established pop-punk roots with seven tracks that all steer and swerve into many different paths sonically. Additionally, to both produce and help push the band down this newfound songwriting venture, Yours Truly once again recruited Stevie Knight (Stand Atlantic, With Confidence, Between You and Me) -who previously produced their debut album, Self Care (2020). These seven new tracks are inspired by the music they were all collectively listening to at the time, which included Bring Me The Horizon, The 1975, Bloc Party, and Head Automatica. Furthermore, is this what i look like? was never intended to be such a daring step forward musically for Yours Truly. Originally, when the quartet began the effort's writing process, the band's members planned it to be a three-track juxtaposition to Self-Care -which they were going to title Self-Sabotage. The EP was initially meant to touch on something other than the sunshine and butterflies of Self-Care and be more true and reflective of where the band is now. As the process furthered, Yours Truly realized the songs were bigger than they intended them to be. So their "anything goes" attitude compelled them to push themselves harder than before and it resulted in writing an EP without any limitations in front of them.
is this what i look like? opens the flood gates with the exuberant rock number "Walk Over My Grave." The opening track percolates a heavier tone instrumentally, all wrapped around vocalist Mikaila Delgado's well-known and obviously powerful vocals. The guitars on the song round out the sonic blast as they swap between a softer and harder direction throughout the track's runtime of three minutes and twenty seconds. "Walk Over My Grave" details an old friend who fell out of her life. Delgado sings on if anything she said to this person had ever retained anything she said to them during their relationship. Delgado, one day was driving and shivered, and it reminded her how this person would always tell her, "someone must be walking over your grave." She immediately pulled over and wrote the lyrics for "Walk Over My Grave." Following is the classic Yours Truly sounding track, "Bruises." The powerful track features a more straightforward pop-punk sound and additionally features Stray from the Path frontman Drew York on a verse. The third track on is this what i look like? is the EP's latest single, "Careless Kind." This more mellow, melodic pop-rock number is still unquestionably powerful at its heart as "Careless Kind" details Delgado's health and anxieties and wishing she could just see things in black and white and not overthink everything.
The massive single, "Hallucinate," is yet another heavy tune, both musically and lyrically. "Hallucinate" is an anxiety attack turned into music. The song tackles how an anxiety attack takes over your body so much that it feels as if you're under the influence of something. It's one of the darkest tracks Yours Truly has ever written, but Delgado found a lot of power in pulling out the chaos of how anxiety debilitates her on a daily basis and putting it into a song. Musically, it sort of pulls from all over the place. It's a little bit pop-punk, it's got some hard rock following through its veins, and it also pulls some electronic influence as well, which is placed throughout it. Additionally, "Hallucinate" features You Me at Six vocalist Josh Franceschi, who brings something otherworldly to the track. I just can't imagine "Hallucinate" ever not featuring Josh. "If You're Drowning (I'll Learn How To Hold My Breath)" is another fun pop-rock anthem, and while lyrically again a heavier piece, sonically it's quite the palette cleanser with it taking the EP back to the band's roots. The EP closing number, "Lights On," is about challenging the way you view yourself and how much that is/can be influenced by other people. Sonically, "Lights On" is a full-blown pop-rock/pop-punk hybrid that clear as day showcases their Bring Me The Horizon influences with various electronic sounds spaced within the track, bringing the already powerful song to even new heights. The is this what i look like? EP is a wild trip from the start of track one to the end of track seven. While pushing their sound more than they have ever done in the past, Yours Truly doesn't drastically change their sound on is this what i look like?, but they still conform to the new norm of bands and artists pushing genres past their limits. Something that's been heard for the last few years and will undoubtedly be president within music going into the future. However, the band doesn't shy when it comes to the lyrical content on the EP. Each of these seven years digs deep and provides some of the most personal and darkest tracks from Yours Truly to date. Each song on the EP is pop-punk at heart, with enough care and precision put into each track with other various elements from other genres, just enough to make each song stand out among the rest and push each track closer and closer to another genre entirely. It's something that producer Stevie Knight really supported the band behind the scenes to achieve. Be sure to catch Yours Truly on tour this September and October in North America with I Prevail, Pierce the Veil, and Fit For A King, and on a country-wide headlining tour of their home country of Australia this coming November. You can pre-save is this what i look like? here.
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