Yacht – I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler
YACHT (it stands for Young Americans Challenging High Technology) have punishingly cool credentials: describing themselves variously as an 'avant-garde karaoke group' and 'a no wave broken disco band,' Claire L. Evans and Jona Brechtolt have roped in renowned producer Jacknife Lee for their sixth album. The result is an ambitious conceptual pop album that seems to attempt to do for the 21st century what the likes of Heaven 17 attempted to do for the ‘80s.
Dystopian references to holograms, phones, police violence, sex and technology give their upbeat electro pop a Ballardian and rather sinister edge: it’s no surprise that one of the catchiest songs here is called I Wanna Fuck You Til I’m Dead. Elsewhere the jittery Don’t Be Rude sees Evans ruminating on the lost mythology of childhood, pleading, 'Don’t tell me there’s no face on the moon.' If it all feels rather cold and scary, perhaps that’s the point. Until then, just dance. [Jamie Bowman]