Y!KES - IRON DEFICIENCY
Updated: Apr 11, 2022
Stephen Pennell ©
They’ve supported Skid Row, Mallory Knox and Counterfeit, and been supported by Kerrang!, King City and Counteract, so it's no wonder they’ve had more than a quarter of a million Spotify streams.
The latest instalment from Rock and Roll casualties Y!kes exploded into my inbox recently, accompanied by a video shot inside Birmingham Botanical Gardens, where for once the famous peacocks were upstaged. Oli Long throws more shapes than a Wacky Warehouse which, along with his new lounge lizard look, I didn’t know he had in his locker. Turns out his locker has more in it than a decent-sized industrial unit.
The new single, the second of a series to be released throughout 2022, is entitled Iron Deficiency, and simultaneously plunders the traditions and plots the future of rock. Liam Howard kicks things off with an unaccompanied yet electrifying psychedelic riff, then over a musical accompaniment that threatens to erupt into volcanic fury at any moment, Oli sings a kind of sleazy, scorched-earth soundscape, the lyrics inspired by an article highlighting torturous methods of practice still undertaken on animals today, and anaemia-induced blackouts.
I asked Oli to explain Iron Deficiency in more detail:
“Well literally it’s a medical condition, also known as anaemia. I’ve had some experiences of it due to lack of sleeping and eating. Basically it makes you pass out when you stand up too quick. So figuratively it’s essentially the hermetic and occasionally anaemic philosopher’s superhero anthem.”
How’s that for a quote? Genius right? Now close your eyes and count to three and learn to love them just like me.