When you’ve been at this idol game for a while, not only do you find yourself with a startling amount of otherwise useless knowledge, the amount of recall you’ve built up as a bank gets to be almost harrowing to consider. I had the privilege of talking about ye olde website and its advent a couple of weeks back with a friend who I hadn’t seen in years, for instance, and after getting through the tl;dr Homicidols Elevator Pitch, he sort of good-naturedly challenged me on just how much there would really be to talk about. I made him look through our archives on his phone while I narrated the process of discovering literally hundreds of loud-aligned idol groups over time, and following his surprise waxed nostalgic on certain acts from way back in the day, names like petit pas! and THE SPUNKY and Tsubasa Fly, names you might not recognize if you’ve only been around in the past couple of years. And then I enjoyed telling him about the long-timers that are still out there! Your You’ll Melt More! and NECRONOMIDOL and … UNDER BEASTY. And that’s when I kind of lit up, for not only do I love them all, but UB holds a very special place in my heart for having navigated their way from a truly indie origin all the way to a major label. Anybody who’s ever turned to their idiot friends and said “we should start a band!” (as I had several times with the friend mentioned here) can relate to the excitement that wells up inside in those moments — and UB lived it.
So yeah, while I did just get to post about UNDER BEASTY recently and reflect a bit on that trajectory therein, here’s another chance because Yumu just dropped her second single:
If you’ve idorocked at all in the past (and/or have any familiarity with UB’s wheelhouse), this isn’t a moment to be blown away or anything. However, if you happen to really enjoy idorock and/or UB on its own merits, then here is something that you probably enjoy! And if you’re somehow here and otherwise unfamiliar with idorock, then allow me to introduce you not to the form, in which I encourage you to lean into the melodies, let the hook flow through you and let your brain pick out the surprising sonic depth. Yumu’s got a nice voice on her, which does help, though let’s be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that we’re listening to the least groundbreaking stuff on the planet. Idorock’s basically a template, so you either like it or you don’t, and (as you might expect) it’s usually the singer/s that makes the difference. And I like Yumu, so it works out!
Anyway, it’s out today. Give it a few listens to old time’s sake.
