You Have To Listen To This: YEEK

The first time I came across YEEK was through a Vice article in my Facebook feed. The headline said “genre–bending” and I thought it said “gender–bending.” I was way less confused on my second listen after rereading the title, and that’s when I realized how good it was.

The first track I heard from the 26–year–old, Filipino–American, California–based singer was “I’m Not Ready." The video version opens with an anecdote about his beliefs on love. It’s a word we use for a concept that we can't fully understand. Throughout his first album, Love Slacker, YEEK seems to be trying his best to change that for himself as the songs proceed—the tracks all revolve around a breakup and feel like a continuous stream of consciousness. The first two tracks show him wanting his old thing back—from begging to buy her flowers on the aptly–titled “Flowers” to lamenting her cool new boyfriend on the equally aptly–titled “Come Back.”

As the music proceeds, though, the mood becomes spacey and the ideas more introspective, as if YEEK begins to explore himself for the first time after a long time of only seeing himself in someone else. “Like A God” and “Hot Minute” are the highlights here, the latter of which delivers us to the aforementioned “I’m Not Ready.” This track steals the show by combining a punk rock feel with a fun and melodic rap flow. “Never seen a girl twerk to Fall Out Boy,” he sings. Neither have I, but I can imagine how that would make sense in the world he paints for us: a sunny SoCal surrounded with just enough grit to give the sound a much–appreciated edge. And topically, the song wraps the album up perfectly—he’s not ready for love again, just yet, because he’s remembered how to love himself and have a good time.

YEEK's next album, Sebastian, is due to come out on April 28. Four singles have been released so far—and they all build upon the sound established on Love Slacker in different but equally intriguing directions. “Only in the West” gives us East Coasters a taste of the “West Coast blues." He sings about friends who sell drugs out of necessity and the sadness of making music but not making a living off of it. “Left” continues this theme, lamenting the idea of feeling like a movie star when partying with west coast “bloggers and foodies." The song introduces a wild turn led by a vintage Rhodes keyboard and some trap hi–hats, accompanied by a standout verse from rising and wonderfully eccentric rapper Duckwrth. “Slow” and “Away” both take the breakup theme and give it a sadder, alt–R&B vibe.

If you pulled a genre out of a hat or out of your iTunes library, you could probably find influences of it in YEEK's music. With all these different elements synthesized into a unique sound, I have a hard time believing he’ll be complaining about music not paying the bills for much longer.