BPREVIEW: YONAKA @ Castle & Falcon 15.03.19

Words by Ed King / Live photography by Eleanor Sutcliffe

On Friday 15th March, YONAKA headline at the Castle & Falcon – with tour support from their Atlantic Records labelmates, Broken Hands.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets priced at £10 (adv) – as presented by Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info and links to online ticket sales, click here.

Kicking off their European tour in Birmingham, YONAKA come back to the second city before heading up, down, and up the UK, over to mainland Europe, then back for a series of summer dates and festivals in Blighty once again.

On the road promoting their… and I use these words with all the caution and capitals they deserve, EAGERLY AWAITED DEBUT ALBUM – YONAKA are paving the way for that all important first kick in the album charts, when Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow comes out on 31st May.

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Already having grabbed some serious attention with a series of singles and EPs, including the uber exciting and confident first steps forward ‘Creature’, ‘Fired Up’ and ‘Bubblegum’, YONAKA are – in the opinion of this humble and occasionally jaded music lover – an absolute fucking gamechanger.

Go on to Spotify. Type ‘YONAKA‘. Spend an hour listening. Then tell me I’m wrong.

Birmingham Review first happen chanced across the Brighton born YONAKA when they supported Don Broco on their UK tour in February 2018.

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Having formed in 2015 and already signed to Atlantic Records, after being picked up by the major following their debut releases on Hometown Records, YONAKA were well on their way by the time we caught their coat tails.

But with all the glory of their controlled ferocity, wit, throat grabbing melodies and acerbic lyrics – all thrown at you through a refreshingly unpinpointable fistful of genres – YONAKA are easy to get excited about. And we did. And you should. Again, follow the steps above and tell me I’m wrong.

But Birmingham will get its chance to experience all this for itself, as YONAKA kick off their album promoting tour at the Castle & Falcon on 15th March.

And whilst I would seriously recommend you check out all of their past EPs, I’m going to stick with two ends of the YONAKA single release rainbow to whet your whistle – ‘Bad Company’ is the first track from their upcoming album Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, and ‘Bubblegum’ from their debut Heavy EP. Enjoy.

‘Bad Company – Yonaka

‘Bubblegum’ – Yonaka (from Heavy EP)

Yonaka play at the Castle & Falcon on Friday 15th March, with support from Broken Hands. For more direct gig information and links to online ticket sales, visit www.castleandfalcon.com/event/yonaka-special-guests

For more on Yonaka, visit www.weareyonaka.com

For more on Broken Hands, visit www.brokenhandsband.com

For more from Birmingham Promoters, visit www.birminghampromoters.com

For more from the Castle & Falcon, including full event listings and venue details, visit http://castleandfalcon.com/

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