Grade: 3.5/5.0
Indie rock band HUNNY released its debut full-length album July 19, obnoxiously and magnificently titled Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. The California group has been releasing and rereleasing this record’s songs in chunks since the beginning of this year, and the final product isn’t half bad.
More obsessed fans will note that Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. is a slight departure from the band’s previous EPs. Though it’s a shorter album — only eight songs, clocking in at 21 minutes — the record establishes its mood quickly, brooding about the pains and aches of falling out of love.
And then it never stops.
Now, it’s not unusual for HUNNY to sing about heartbreak — the band’s first EP in 2015 was even called Pain / Ache / Loving. After four years of making music, the group has obviously settled into an aural and thematic niche. As the band described on its website, the concept for this new album was endearingly labeled, “I love you and I want to die.” While the cohesive theme is great if you’re in an angsty kind of mood, it does get repetitive after a few listens through.
The first song on the album, “Lula, I’m Not Mad,” is a bubblegum synth track, reaching for aesthetic inspiration from ‘80s glitter and early-2000s grunge. Resembling the likes of the pop punk band Waterparks, this shift toward a more pop-driven rock approach appeals more to a younger crowd, especially lyrically. The straightforward lines, like “Take all of my time / Take me for granted” aren’t super dimensional, but they remain fun all the same.
“Change Ur Mind” is another tale of disappointment — not in quality, but rather in the artist’s frustration with the outcome of a relationship. The sheer dissatisfaction is loud and clear in the main chorus: “You should change your mind / That’s what it’s for.” Lead singer Jason Yarger succeeds at matching this feeling with his vocal inflection, as the layering of echoed choruses drives the beat forward.
The pace switches drastically with “A Slow Death in Pacific Standard Time.” Changes in speed throughout the song make this track one of the most dynamically interesting on the album. Racing verses settle into swinging choruses, and the transitioning sway of guitar riffs eases listeners into the next tempo.
“Saturday Night” goes right back to where the album rested before — another fun, ‘80s-inspired indie pop rock anthem to add to the track list. The lyrics “Disappointment always on my shoulders” could fit into any one of the preceding songs; here, though, the artist is disappointed that the one he loves is in more of an “I’ll call you back later” place in the relationship.
The shortest song on the album, “Smarter Ways of Saying It,” puts a melody to the feeling of falling out of love. Just over a minute long, this track is more of a tonal transition between “Saturday Night” and the next song on the album, “Everything Means Everything Meant Everything.” With the repeated lyrics of “All you gave me was indifference,” listeners can definitely get the idea that this album is one for when you’re really going through something.
A more melancholy expression comes out on the last two songs of the album, “Ritalin” and “Halloween.” Although they hold the same upbeat-dread motif as the rest of the album, they tie up the story in a mess of drugs and depressive tendencies. The concept of forgetting it’s Halloween and thinking, “I guess I’m going as a guy who’s paying parking tickets / On his laptop on the living room floor / In the same clothes I wore yesterday” is one some may know all too well.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. is fundamentally a killer breakup album — maybe more if you’re the one doing the heart-breaking.
