Pursuit of Momentary Happiness
Studio album by
Yak
Released8 February 2019 (2019-02-08)
StudioRAK Studios[1]
GenreGarage rock,[2] psychedelic rock[3]
Length41:24
LabelThird Man
Virgin EMI
ProducerMarta Salogni,[4] Oli Burslem, J. Spaceman[5]
Yak chronology
Alas Salvation
(2016)		 Pursuit of Momentary Happiness
(2019)
Singles from Pursuit of Momentary Happiness
  1. "White Male Carnivore"
    Released: 29 August 2018[6]
  2. "Bellyache"
    Released: 12 October 2018[7]
  3. "Fried"
    Released: 6 December 2018[1]
  4. "This House has No Living Room"
    Released: 25 January 2019[8]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[9]
Metacritic74/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Clash7/10[12]
DIY[13]
Under the Radar3.5/10[14]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[3]
Pitchfork7.6/10[2]
The 4057.5/10[15]
NME[16]
Dork[17]

Pursuit of Momentary Happiness is the second studio album by English band Yak. It was released on 8 February 2019 through Third Man Records and Virgin EMI Records.[4] The album was the band's first with bassist Vinny Davies after previous bassist Andy Jones moved to Australia.[4]

Background

Following the release of the band's debut album Atlas Salvation, the band found themselves facing multiple obstacles when it came to writing a follow-up. Front man Oli Burslem had originally planned to spend a month song-writing in Japan before meeting bassist Andy Jones who had recently moved to Australia. Burslem was approached by Tame Impala and Pond member Jay Watson to write and record a new record in Perth. However, he found himself spending all the album advance money on alcohol and not writing material, leading him to lose all his money and have to live in his van for a year and a half.[18]

The band recruited bassist Vinny Davies and decided to start working on the album from scratch.[4] Shortly after they would meet Spiritualized frontman Jason Pierce who encouraged the band to pursue creating the album as well as to "get loads of influences."[19] Burslem wrote 29 songs for the album and used the songs that "had a consistent theme" for the album.[20]

In August 2018 the band announced their signing to Virgin EMI alongside a UK tour and the single White Male Carnivore.[21] The album was announced on 6 December 2018, alongside the release of the single "Fried."[22]

Music

The music of the album has been described as "psych-tinged" and "garage rock-informed."[23][2] Bitter Sweet Symphonies.co.uk described the album as containing traces of later Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Roy Orbison, hardcore punk of the late ’80s, psychedelia of the late ’70s, and Leonard Cohen.[24]

The first track on the album "Bellyache" was written while Burslem was living out of his car. He described the song as being "like the last piece of music we would ever make and that we had to put everything we had into it. That's where the last lyric "if you’re going for broke just make sure you don't choke" comes from."[25] The song was compared to John Lennon at his rawest, "with the singer taunting some greedy fat cats reeling from their own gluttony."[2]

The song "Fried" was described by Burslem as being about "our unsatisfiable desire to indulge in things that aren't good for us. However, once you get a taste for it, it's hard to stop and it's better to fully give way to the temptation."[26]

The first single released from the album was the track "White Male Carnivore." The song was written while Burslem lived in Tokyo. Burslem decided to write a song from his point of view and said that "the three words which made me feel the most uncomfortable were white, male and carnivore. Everything currently seems reductive and polarising."[21] The backing vocals in the track were compared to The Beach Boys.[27]

The final song on the album "This House Has No Living Room" features Jason Pierce who adds vocals and slide guitar to the track as well as John Coxon who plays piano and harmonica. Burslem said that he'd be happy if the song was the last piece of music he ever made.[28]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Yak, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Bellyache"3:42
2."Fried"3:22
3."Pursuit of Momentary Happiness"3:24
4."Words Fail Me"4:15
5."Blinded By the Lies" (Andrew Jones)3:01
6."Interlude"1:09
7."White Male Carnivore"3:24
8."Pay Off vs. The Struggle"4:03
9."Encore"2:17
10."Layin' It on the Line"4:20
11."This House Has No Living Room"8:27
Total length:41:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[5]

Yak

  • Oli Burslem – vocals, guitar, production
  • Vincent Davies – bass guitar
  • Elliot Rawson – drums

Additional performers

  • J. Spaceman – piano & production on track 4, guitar on track 9, slide guitar & vocals on track 11
  • John Coxon – guitar on track 9, piano & harmonica on track 11
  • Elliott Arndt – flute on tracks 1 & 11
  • Martin Slattery – saxophone on tracks 1, 4 to 6, 8, 10 & 11
  • Nichol Thomson – trombone on tracks 1, 4, 6, 8 & 11
  • Tom Walsh – trumpet on tracks 1, 4, 6, 8 & 11

Production

Artwork

References

  1. 1 2 Kenneally, Cerys (6 December 2018). "Yak announce second album with boisterous new track "Fried"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Berman, Stuart (8 February 2019). "Yak: Pursuit of Momentary Happiness Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 Loftin, Steven (8 February 2019). "Yak – Pursuit of Momentary Happiness". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Yak: Pursuit of Momentary Happiness Coming in February". Third Man Records. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Yak – Pursuit Of Momentary Happiness (CD, Album) – Discogs". discogs. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  6. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (29 August 2018). "Yak drop mettlesome cut 'White Male Carnivore'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  7. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (12 October 2018). "Yak share psychedelic new track "Bellyache"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  8. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (25 January 2019). "Yak link with Jason Pierce from Spiritualized for new single 'This House Has No Living Room'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "ADM Reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "Metacritic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  11. ↑ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Pursuit of Momentary Happiness – Yak". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Egan, Liam (7 February 2019). "Clash Magazine Review". Clash. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  13. ↑ Wright, Lisa. "DIY Magazine Review". DIY. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  14. ↑ Slaughter, Matthew (14 February 2019). "Under the Radar Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  15. ↑ Leorne, Ana (11 February 2019). "Review: Yak overcome second album jitters, delivering a mature rock album in Pursuit Of Momentary Happiness". The 405. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  16. ↑ Hunt, El (15 February 2019). "Yak – 'Pursuit Of Momentary Happiness' review". NME. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  17. ↑ MacMillan, Jamie (7 February 2019). "Yak – Pursuit Of Momentary Happiness". Dork. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  18. ↑ Wright, Lisa (7 January 2019). ""IF I'D HAVE DISAPPEARED OFF THE PLANET, THERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN MUCH TRACE OF ME." – THE RIDICULOUS ROAD TO YAK'S SECOND ALBUM". DIY. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  19. ↑ Hansen, Susan (11 March 2019). "Bellyache: Yak's Oli Burslem On Their New Album, And Refusing To Compromise". Clash. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  20. ↑ Zawadzki, Clementine (7 November 2018). "YAK frontman Oli Burslem talks us through the band's unhinged sophomore record". Hero. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  21. 1 2 Hakimian, Rob (29 August 2018). "YAK return with the self-eviscerating romp 'White Male Carnivore'". The 405. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  22. ↑ Hakimian, Rob (6 December 2018). "Yak release bold and bolshy new single 'Fried', announce new album". The 405. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  23. ↑ "YAK SHARE THE SLEAZY 'BELLYACHE'". DIY. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  24. ↑ Strazzulla, Chiara (10 February 2019). "ALBUM REVIEW: YAK – 'Pursuit of Momentary Happiness'- Bitter Sweet Symphonies". Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  25. ↑ "YAK IS BACK WITH THEIR NEW SONG/VIDEO "BELLYACHE"". Third Man Records. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  26. ↑ "Yak release new song 'Fried'". Far Out Magazine. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  27. ↑ Manno, Lizzie (28 August 2018). "Daily Dose: Yak, "White Male Carnivore"". Paste. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  28. ↑ "Yak share new song 'This House Has No Living Room' featuring J Spaceman". Far Out Magazine. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
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