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Album review : YAKKIE are about to unleash their debut – and we’re all talking about it!

By Sonny Tyler
YAKKIE lead - photo by Jessie Morgan

Punk supergroup dish out the rage and urge us to Kill The Cop Inside Your Head

This London-based band is a relatively new one to me. I recently noticed that YAKKIE were down to support those excellent US political punkers Dead Pioneers on their forthcoming UK tour in February, so it was nice to have the opportunity to get the lowdown before the throwdown, so to speak.

The band’s self-released ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head‘ album is due to hit our record shelves on February 13th, and anticipation is rightfully high. This group is made up of people who are no strangers to the DIY music scene, featuring members of Dream Nails, Personal Best, Colour Me Wednesday and Petrol Girls, to name a few!

YAKKIE - photo by Jessie Morgan

YAKKIE are :
Janey Starling (she/her) on vocals
Maeve Westall (she/her) on drums
Robin Gatt (they/them) on guitar & vocals
Laura Ankles (she/her) on bass & vocals

The opening and title track of ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head‘ wastes absolutely no time in dishing out the band’s political metal/punk mayhem. It has a post/punk groove and a headbanging chorus that wouldn’t sound too out of place on a Suicidal Tendencies album. Janey‘s vocals sound almost Polystyrene-esque on this number, and I can see why Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine has been blasting it out on his SiriusXM radio show in the States recently!

This song becomes pretty damn raging and will be sure to leave you with an earworm and a ringing in your ears that you’ll actually be thankful for. It’s a welcome and refreshing rallying call for protest and resistance, in contemporary musical form.

This is followed by ‘Criticise Me’ which has a poppier melody with an almost indie-style delivery. It is also, more importantly, a song about manipulative relationships which I think you’ll agree need addressing. ‘He Sleeps Alone’ is YAKKIE’s latest single, the damning story of a single man who almost certainly deserves his social standing. I’ll let Janey Starling do the explaining; “‘He Sleeps Alone‘ is a fuckboy anthem written in the age of situationship. This song is about the emotional loneliness that straight men create for themselves through desperate performances of masculinity, that cuts them off from real love. If there is a ‘male loneliness epidemic’, then it’s entirely men’s own doing, through their self-absorbtion and superficiality.” I really couldn’t have put it better myself!
 
‘Lean Out‘  has a feminist message, put across with several harmonised vocals and a varied BPM. There is even a Black Sabbath type breakdown that Ozzy would be proud of. ‘Atlas‘ slows down the proceedings, and seems to be about the breakdown of a relationship, where the vocalist sings, “I’ve outgrown the deepest love I’ve ever known” before rocking out at the song’s climax. ‘Rabbit’s Got The Gun‘ is another single from the album, including top lyrics “It ain’t no fun when a rabbit’s got the gun“. This is another highlight for me – it’s a certified headbanger of a track:

‘Right Of Reply‘ is about domestic violence, covering the injustice of how too many men murder their partners / ex-partners, only for the press to blame the victims and give the abusers sympathy.. It’s a song full of righteous anger, complete with an almost Pink Floyd-style mid section. ‘Secrets‘ comes across as a sad song with more gentle vocals, before building up to a dramatic end.

‘Take It All’ ups the tempo with interesting time signatures and super catchy riffing. ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head‘ closes with positivity in the form of ‘Under The Pavement Is The Beach’, letting us know that “even when up is down, you’ll find a way out“. It’s a song that’s ultimately about defiance and hope, as Janey shouts “We’ll scream and we’ll plant some seeds“ before the needle heads reluctantly to the run-out groove. 

‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head‘ is an inventive and multi-layered album with a very welcome positive message. It’s full of well put-together songs, and YAKKIE are a certainly a band with something to say. It is also a record that will be sure to beg repeated listens, so on Feb 13th, grab your copy of the album on digital, CD or vinyl HERE

Be sure to check YAKKIE out on their forthcoming UK tour, and help them to plant those seeds – upcoming tour dates with Dead Pioneers :

26th Feb – The Croft, Bristol.
27th Feb – Rebellion, Manchester.
28th Feb – The Key Club, Leeds.
1st March – Camden Underworld, London.

 
YAKKIE album cover

Main Photo Credit /All Band Photos: JESSIE MORGAN

1. Kill The Cop Inside Your Head
2. Criticise Me
3. He Sleeps Alone
4. Lean Out
5. Atlas
6. Rabbit’s Got The Gun
7. Right To Reply
8. Secrets
9. Take It All
10. Under The Pavement Is A Beach

Follow YAKKIE on Their Socials:
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