Leeds noisenicks The Yalla Yallas follow up their 2021 album ‘What It Means To Be Human’ with a thought-provoking 6^th studio album entitled ‘A World At The End Of The World’. Self-produced and recorded at Loom studios in West Yorkshire, we join singer/songwriter and main protagonist Rob Galloway on a retrospective trip through the cosmos where he questions our whole existence, searches to find out what is real, declares undying love to at least one girl, and ends up hanging out with Elvis, or something, before the end of the world.

With an album title that gives a ray of hope in spite the impending doom, first single ‘Atomic Clock’ offers a ‘no fucks given’ approach, a welcome return to the uncompromising, high energy rock n’ roll the band are known for. But the interesting thing about this album is that The Yalla Yallas throw about some unexpected curve balls through the 9 songs on offer, and it starts right from the word go.

Opener ‘Dream Out Loud (Parts I,II and III)’ is a 5-minute plus, slow burning epic affair full of atmospherics and devious intentions. It builds on a sole, picked acoustic guitar and Rob’s lonesome vocal. A sound that immediately draws the listener in, demanding their full attention. The ebb and flow create cinematic vibes, whether it be the Slash-like guitar noodling from Will Grinder or the chilled outro, full of spacey, sound effects. It sets the scene for a journey of sorts.

Elsewhere, the Bad Seeds influenced ‘Down At The Zoo’ is a 12-bar blues anthem for outcasts and socials rejects. An instantly catchy hook, regimental beats and a laid back but confident swagger make it an early highlight. Some say it’s grim up North, but the band somehow manage to channel Ennio Morricone vibes creating their own West Yorkshire spaghetti western with ‘Drive Me Out Of Town’.

The likes of ‘Reset’ and ‘Hey Brian!’ are more in tune with what we have come to expect from The Yalla Yallas. Full of driving beats, rock guitars and a spoken word extract courtesy of The Rebel Poet (David Holmes), ‘Reset’ is the sound of a band on a charge, and ‘Hey Brian!’ is a low-slung rock n’ roll affair with Rob doing his best Bobbie Gillespie over a shoutathon of a chorus.

Taking things right down with a tinkling of the ivories, acoustic guitars and brushes on skins, is the delicate sounds of ‘Barcelona (Absolution)’. Cinematic in its approach and delivery, it’s a song that is as instant as it is fresh sounding. With a well thought out structure, a less is more approach and a cool outro hook with a spoken word diatribe Patti Smith would be proud of, it’s an album highlight for me.

With any Yalla Yallas album there’s gotta be a radio friendly potential single, and ‘(Baby Baby) I Love You’ is ‘AWATEOTW’s hidden gem. An upbeat song full of joy and positivity with an earworm of a chorus. Imagine the sound of early U2 with Steve Jones cranking out the guitars and you might get close.

The raucous punk n’ roll of ‘Elvis (You Gotta Shake)’ finishes things up nicely with cool bass runs, neat licks and added “uh-huh’s” for good measure.

‘A World At The End Of The World’ is a strong return from a Northern band that are well known for their high-energy, sweat-drenched live shows. Rob and his band of brothers have created an album that is raw and ramshackle and delivered from the heart. It sees the band challenge themselves as songwriters to step outside of their comfort zone and create a diverse sounding set of songs with themes of escapism and searching for new horizons. It’s good to have them back and look forward to catching these songs live in the near future.

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Authpr: Ben Hughes