{"id":5888,"date":"2019-06-08T05:00:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T05:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=5888"},"modified":"2019-06-02T21:34:45","modified_gmt":"2019-06-02T21:34:45","slug":"the-yalla-yallas-outsider-self-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=5888","title":{"rendered":"The Yalla Yallas \u2013 \u2018Outsider\u2019 (Self Released)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mainstays on the Northern live music scene, Leeds punk reprobates The Yalla Yallas are well known for their energetic and frantic live shows. Fronted by the enigmatic Rob Galloway, they take their name from a Joe Strummer song and have released three albums over the past decade.<\/p>\n

For inspiration, singer\/songwriter Rob took himself on a European trip, armed with just his notebook and a passport. \u2018Outsider\u2019, the band’s fourth album, is the fruits of his labour and sees the band venture outside of their punk roots to explore folk, blues and country.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Outsider\u2019 is an eclectic collection of songs that draws on the bands collective influences and the singer\u2019s worldly experiences. It mixes up rousing, punky blasts with folky traditional stomps and heartfelt balladry on a par with anything their contemporaries can muster.<\/p>\n

You can tell The Yalla Yallas are a great live band and producer Grant Henderson has captured the live spirit of the band perfectly. None more so than on the upbeat and rousing \u2018Borrowed Heart\u2019. A song that brings to mind early U2 and The Waterboys, the urgent beats and bouncing bass line lay down a perfect rhythm for layered guitars and Rob\u2019s raw vocals. The addition of a surprise sax gives added E Street band goodness. This is good stuff.<\/p>\n

It seems that the band thrives on exhilarating, catchy sing-alongs. Whether it be punky stabs of Clash-like goodness such as the single \u2018Problems\u2019 and \u2018Another Day In Hell\u2019, rousing, folky drinking songs like \u2018Blackpool (Feeling So Alive)\u2019 or frantic blasts like \u2018Murder, Baby!\u2019, a song that comes on like a lost b side from The Urban Voodoo Machine.<\/p>\n

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The emotive \u2018Somewhere Anywhere\u2019 is one of those special, instantly gratifying songs that begs repeated plays. It builds to a chorus that includes the line \u201cI wanna dance with you in the eye of a hurricane\u201d, words sung with such passion and conviction. You believe his every word by the time he\u2019s telling the girl \u201cI wanna be the man you\u2019ve dreamed of\u201d as guitarist Will Grinder peels off licks of Slash-like proportions.<\/p>\n

They take it down as well though. The banjo-infused \u2018I Got Nothing\u2019 is Johnny Thunders meets Mike Scott. Stripped bare, it\u2019s heartfelt balladry of a man with nothing to lose. Elsewhere, a lone piano, haunting gospel vocals and Tom Waits vibes make \u2018Walking In The Rain\u2019 an essential slice of alternative music you need in your life.<\/p>\n

They add another string to their bow with the spaghetti western-inspired \u2018Devil\u2019, a song that has Ennio Morricone vibes. Its pistols at dawn, with the stench of stale sweat and whiskey in your nostrils. The perfect Tarantino-esque soundtrack fodder.<\/p>\n

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The Yalla Yallas are relatively unknown outside of their native Leeds and \u2018Outsider\u2019 goes a long way to prove they should be much more than that. This collection of songs contains many sure-fire, future live favourites. These are alternative anthems to lose your shit to, as you sing-along with Rob, a beer in your hand and not a care in the world.<\/p>\n

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