Yuuf – ‘Mt. Sava’ Review

What does Yuuf sound like?

Instrumental psych-rock meets medicine music if it wanted a stadium tour.

The review of ‘Mt. Sava’ by Yuuf

Following on from their previous EP ‘Alma’s Cove‘, four-piece instrumental band Yuuf takes us up into the mountains with new EP ‘Mt. Sava’. In keeping with their laidback, meditative, and gently uplifting tones, Yuuf continues to weave musical delights with their psych-rock tinged efforts.

With the move from the seaside coves to the desert mountains comes a woodier, breezier tone. Opening track ‘Moon Dive’ is a blossoming perfume of atmospheric long-tail electric guitar notes and subtle wind that creates a reflective mood of its own. The unhurried nature of the track eases listeners in gently, like breathwork. ‘Night Air’ has much in common with Tuareg music, or desert rock. The percussive metallic slaps of the handpan and rumbling muffled drums play support to a driving electric guitar melody. As the music trips and slips in a restless but focused state, you can’t help but groove with it. When paired with the fabulous ‘Ørken Bloom’, the pair are two sides of a desert rock coin. ‘Ørken Bloom’ sounds like it belongs on a LittleBigPlanet soundtrack for a Western-themed world. Between the snakey basslines, spaghetti-guitars, and fast-paced beats, it’s a riot.

Yuuf conceived this EP to run as a night-into-day song cycle, and with sunset, nighttime, and sunrise complete, ‘Calima’ focuses on the searing desert mountain sun. Taking the calming waltz of the opening track, we now have intricate electric guitar noodling and a Saharan twang in the track’s step. It has a renewed beauty to it. Glossy and billowy. Much like the winds the song references. This leads us to the double-track outro. ‘Mesa Pt.1’ builds up an atmospheric cascade of waning guitars in anticipation of the EP’s finale, ‘Mesa Mesa’. Shakers and tuned metallic percussion provide a dry, raspy atmosphere to allow the Arabian guitar solos to effortlessly overflow into the speakers. With all the buildup of the intro track, I was expecting ‘Mesa Mesa’ to break out into a cinematic frenzy, but it stays restrained. Think Jungle Book’s ‘Trust In Me’ but with 500% more guitar solo virtuosos, and you’ve got the curious mood down.

I hope Yuuf continues with the trend of taking on different environments or cultures in future EPs. Whilst the musical DNA is apparent, ‘Mt. Sava’ sounds distinctly different from ‘Alma’s Cove’. This is a rockier, dustier, yet wispier release. Yuuf has managed to capture the desert blues in a way that feels like the guitar solos are grains of sand slipping through your fingers, and the road ahead is still long. It feels ephemeral and mirage-like… and at times even seductive. It’s another reminder that Yuuf’s musicanship is strong and bold, allowing everyone in the band time to shine.

Recommended track: Night Air

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