Albums: Dreamcatchers – Yova

Dreamcatchers – Yova
Dream Catchers; Hurt Like No Hurt; Feel Your Fear; The Beating; Maybe; The Thrill Is Gone; Conviction; Addictions; Dreamcatchers (Make Up Your Mind)

(Yova Music) YOVA CD002


Alternative pop-duo YOVA follows up their 2021 debut album, Nine Lives, with a new set of tracks that takes the listener on a journey through upbeat and, at times, brooding songs. The lyrical content this time around seems to delve deeply into lost and unrealised dreams and ideals, whether from a personal perspective or within a more global context.

The album has many contrasting moments, from the laidback pop of Maybe to the folk music-infused Conviction to the hauntingly cinematic The Beating, a torch song that infuses tenor guitar, synth, and piano with celestial vocals that nod to female empowerment and strength in the face of adversity.

Surprisingly, a cover of Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell’s 1951 blues classic, The Thrill Is Gone, is delivered in a seductive jazz style that suits the duo immensely and is a path that maybe they should follow in the future.

The album finishes off with an epic spin on the album’s title track, Dreamcatchers (Make Up Your Mind), an immersive and compelling final chorale that sees the duo embark on an expedition through a layer of different sounds of bass, percussion, zither, and mellotron with a backdrop of spiralling guitar patterns. It all sounds like they have been playing their trump card until the very end.

With Dreamcatchers, YOVA has delivered an album that sounds completely different, epic, and momentous.