Yumi Zouma's Gradual Reinvention: No Love Lost to Kindness Review
New Zealand dream-pop quartet Yumi Zouma are embarking on a creative departure from their established sound with their fifth studio album, No Love Lost to Kindness. After a decade of crafting airy, lush, and melancholic melodies, the band has entered what guitarist Charlie Ryder describes as their "most friction-filled creative period" to date, aiming for "more extreme everything, more boldness." While the album introduces louder guitars and distorted elements, this reinvention unfolds more as an evolution than a revolution, likely to resonate deeply with long-time fans while gently pushing boundaries.
A Shift in Sound with Familiar Echoes
The album's lead singles, such as Bashville on the Sugar and Blister, showcase Yumi Zouma's move towards faster tempos and a more assertive sonic palette. Bashville on the Sugar features breathless drumming by Olivia Campion, capturing the intensity of locking eyes with an ex on the subway, while Blister transforms the band's signature whistleable melodies into pogoing pop-punk that professes "venom and rage" yet remains more fun than furious. These tracks hint at a bolder direction but retain the bright, pretty qualities that have defined the band's appeal.
Highlights of Artistic Exploration
Among the album's standout moments is Drag, which begins with a threatening bassline and an uncharacteristically deadpan vocal performance from singer Christie Simpson as she dissects an ADHD diagnosis. However, it soon blossoms into the billowy, layered vocals and luminous guitar work that fans have come to expect, blending experimentation with familiarity. The quieter, more introspective tracks like 95 and Waiting for the Cards to Fall offer a deeper glimpse into this voyage of self-discovery.
95 explores themes of ambition and homesickness with delicate atmospherics and a surprising folky touch, creating a disoriented yet captivating soundscape. The closer, Waiting for the Cards to Fall, mourns a relationship that has run dry but lingers, with Simpson's vocals stripped of the usual reverb to reveal a striking, gothic quality as she vows, "I'm leaving you no matter what, turning myself into dust."
A Real-Time Transformation
Ultimately, No Love Lost to Kindness is not a dramatic reinvention but rather Yumi Zouma remaking themselves in real time. The album edges away from dream pop with louder guitars and bolder intentions, yet the change is more gradual than radical, reflecting the often slow pace of artistic evolution. For those who have followed the band's journey, this record offers an intriguing step forward, blending new extremes with the ethereal beauty that has long been their hallmark.
