It’s often been said that tough times inspire great music, especially great protest music, and Yatsu are a great example to help corroborate this. The world is on fire, and these guys don’t mince any words when talking about it. Or rather, furiously screaming about it on their explosive new album It Can’t Happen Here (a title taken from a Sinclair Lewis novel), of which we are proud to offer you a full premiere today, ahead of its official release on Friday through Roman Numeral (CD/tape) and The Ghost Is Clear (vinyl).
Hailing from Dallas-Fort Worth and formed just over four years ago, Yatsu’s musical vehicle of choice to deliver their brutally honest takes on subjects such as gun violence, false allyship, systemic racism, political apathy and others is a raw mix of grindcore and powerviolence, drenched in a good amount of noise. Though the 17-songs-in-23-minutes setup feels familiar for this kind of thing, the result is in fact atypical and refreshing for the genres in question.
It Can’t Happen Here by Yatsu
If you can hear yourself think at all in the middle of this whirlwind, try to pay special attention to track 10, “It’s Already Happening Here” – coming right after the title-track, it’s actually a noise remix variation of it contributed by Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe) himself.
Guitarist Lane Oliver says: “”Though the bulk of this record was written during 2020, its themes are unfortunately still relevant. Systemic racism, fascism, egoism, and performative politics are still very much on display in the US. The title was chosen because it’s a saying that is truly American. We historically have deluded ourselves into thinking what happens “over there” could never happen here, and we are always proven wrong.”
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