What to say about Yves Tumor? Where to begin? We could start by saying that they have previously flirted with brilliance in the shape of the 2018 release, Safe In The Hands Of Love. That release hinted at a promise yet to come, which has duly arrived in 2020 with the brilliant Heaven To A Tortured Mind.
I mean, what is this sprawling anarchic chaos that seems to go in multiple directions simultaneously? Part art-rock, part-funk, part electro-pop. It makes its own rules, ploughs its own furrow. It’s like nothing else I have listened to this year. It is visceral and unforgiving in its onslaught.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Yves Tumor could become this generation’s Prince. They are creating eclectic, ground-breaking albums that follow no template whilst adopting a persona that is pure performer..
Heaven To A Tortured Mind is literally choc-full of bangers. Gospel For A New Century is the highest profile track. It’s brassy electro funk with an attitude. Medicine Burn is pure psychedelic insanity. Kerosene! is a quite astonishing duet between Tumor and Diana Gordon. It’s reminiscent of some of Prince’s finest ballads, particularly when that wailing electric guitar is let loose. Shortest track, Romanticist, is a sumptuous slice of dream pop.
The highlight of the album, however, comes in the shape of the astonishing Super Stars. The guitar hook in unforgettable and Tumor’s falsetto is lush. It’s a funk coated, luscious anthem that swaggers right off the turntable, grabs you by the lapels and gives you a damn good shake.
Heaven To A Tortured Mind gives us ample evidence that Yves Tumor has the potential to be absolutely massive. If they want it.
the dark flux 