* En anglais uniquement
Dommesdagrock is how Yuma Sun describe their unique musical blend. Easily translated from Norwegian – ‘Doomsday Rock’ - the band´s melding of post punk and atmospheric dark rock influences, intermingled with straightahead rock´n roll, blues and alt-country is as eclectic as it is intoxicating, and comes with an authentic ‘Wild West’ aura that one wouldn´t normally expect in a band hailing from Bergen, Europe´s rainiest city.
Formed in 2012, ‘Watch Us Burn’ is the third album by the quintet and combines inspiration from their favourite global acts to create the band’s own version of American Gothic Country. Starting from the troubadour-noir output of Townes van Zandt before moving on to the US rock & roll of The Gun Club, 80‘s UK rock royalty such as The Cult, the Antipodean alt.rock of Crime & The City Solution and the cinematic US alt.country of Lambchop, and on to Swedish acts such as The Hellacopters and The Hives….all of these artists are crucial to Yuma Sun.
The sinister energy of rock music, paired with the brooding obsession of modern day Americana results in a unique group aesthetic and sound palette. “The album title is the perfect reflection of our music,” says frontman/guitarist Jaran. “It´s about darkness and drama. There are many references to the apocalypse and to death in our songs – these are important aspects of our live shows as well. We´re almost literally setting the stage on fire and want to infect audiences with our passion.”cite
For the recording sessions of ‘Watch Us Burn’, Jaran (acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo and vocals), Bjørn (baritone and lap steel guitars), Simon (double bass), Andreas (drums) and Espen (guitar and trumpet) sought the splendid isolation of the famous Sundlaugin Studios in Iceland. This former indoor swimming pool has been converted by none other than Sigur Rós and albums by Damien Rice, Savages, Of Monsters And Man and many more have been recorded there since 2008.
Songs like ´St.Louise´, ´Judas Tree´ and ´Violets To Stone´ deal with Jaran’s favourite source of inspiration – the fall from grace in the Old Testament. In other words, they deal with pain, suffering, death, loneliness and man’s futile hope of salvation. So too does ´High Road´, which also features Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, frontman of the well known Icelandic heavy metal act Sólstafir. ´King Of Light´ marks the band’s musical homage to the horned prince of darkness himself, before the album ends with the balladesque title track and an important message: Seize the day…and the night, of course. “We don’t think you should spend your time looking forward to the future, but instead enjoy the moment while you can. We´re all doomed and one day we´ll burn in hell – until then we´ll have fun!”