Yugo ¡Hey Tu! EP
Hailing from Andalusia, Spain, this is a clean-cut hardcore act with an almost pop sensibility for moshable tunes. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way in the slightest; there is something infectious about the chops here on display. The recording is crisp, with none of the gauziness or grit that many contemporary hardcore groups employ in the booth. It leaves the songs refreshingly naked in all their mid-tempo lumbering glory, not hiding any of the details. This veers heavy toward the catchy and fun end of the HC dial, whereas most artists seem content to just sound as miserable as possible. It’s nice to hear some playfulness in the genre, not that I feel this act isn’t taking things seriously. The titular closing track has plenty of fire in its belly, it’s just that it’s also a danceable bop. Not a lot of folks can pull off that delicate balance, but I imagine YUGO never has a dull dancefloor. Not with riffs this catchy.