~ Releases
Rescue Weekend
Artist: Y'all Is Fantasy Island
Year: 2008
Release: WBI01
“Acoustic-led pleadings focus on murder, social depravity, and failed relationships, continuing the fine tradition of Scottish miserablism so ably furthered by his hometown’s favourite musical sons Arab Strap….. If new fans still can’t be swayed by the languid lilt of lost love lament Flowers and Flesh, the tumbling drums which add unexpected muscle to High Hopes…’ gorgeous finger-picking motif, or the wailing horn solos that pierce through two further tracks, then that really would be reason to be miserable”
- 4/5 The Skinny
“The unconventional song titles herald mournful Americana, sparse and delicately arranged. Having allowed themselves a comparatively generous three days to record, the variety of instrumentation present here endlessly wrong-foots the listener; acoustic guitar augmented variously by pedal steel, doleful brass, a sudden electric guitar riff, strings, crackles and bangs. Adam Stafford’s tortured songwriting and delivery might seem unremittingly glum, but both menace and hope lurk in the periphery and as its effects distil, “Rescue Weekend” comes to claim its place in the heart and imagination”.
- 4/5 The List
“‘In Faceless Towns Forever’ was mournful and brooding, propelled and sustained by a dark, monstrous impulse. Live shows gave vent to the ghost, noisy and angst-ridden, with echoes of Joy Division. So it’s perhaps surprising that ‘Rescue Weekend’ finds YiFI’s temperance restored, if tenuously. Largely acoustic, the album’s occasional burst of sax, drums and distorted guitar always hint at something larger, more grandiose, but never truly indulged. Far from disappointed, I’m vibrating under a dreadful, tremulous tension; imagine all your favourite post-rock bands reduced to pure concentrate, burnished with glimmers of Grizzly Bear and Phil Elvrum.”
- Plan B Magazine
