Confussed about Yuri?
As I sit writing this review I am baffled regarding Yuri’s Little Sister. I am reading the press release; have the music tickling my ears and a look of confusion upon my face. The confused look is in part due to the eerie and strange natured music I am hearing, but also in regards to what I am reading.
Formed in 2007 under the name Little Sister and recording this release in the same year, Daniel Splitt, Wemer Niemann and Paul Tetzlaff were the original founders of the German eclectic band. A year later, some of the “sisters” parted ways and a new drummer joined Daniel, now getting his wits around guitar, bass as well as singing. Heiko Jung a.k.a Yuri has a history, which boils down to him apparently hunting down for his younger sister, hence the band name. What confuses me over the release is if these are the original Little Sister recordings, why add the new name, or are these re-recordings? You are probably bearing the same confused look as I am about now.
Anyway, forgetting who is playing what and who is in the band and all that, just sitting and listening to the album is quite eerie at first. ‘Secret Melody’ is one of the most bizarre opening tunes I have ever heard. There is a background noise as if hustling and bustling around in shops with the vocals and the minimal of instruments in the foreground. Just before I got really unnerved the heavy rock kicks with this strange sense as if live on stage, singing in the rain to a quiet live crowd, so quiet you can literally hear trucks pulling in and out of a car park.
The next few tunes also have eerie atmospheres, like a gentle grey mist suffocating the song and never allowing them to be volatile, there are a few others that are situated like this. There are a few tracks that are refreshing and plain and simple rock without any background or foreground strangeness. ‘Last Call’ was the first demonstration of this with its loud sound, ‘I Won’t Go’, ‘Too Smart’ and ‘About The Limit’ follow suit. This sense of nervousness, an eerie ambience and in your face sound is what keeps you intrigued to the very end, leaving you strangely satisfied.