29 November 2024 - 0 Comments

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington band Search For Yeti are proud to release their long-awaited debut album Dark So Soon — available digitally through Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, as well as physically on CD and gatefold vinyl LP.

Listen Here

The creation of Dark So Soon has been a long journey for the band. With all three members contributing to songwriting there have been no shortage of songs to choose from, with the album reflecting a wide variety of moods that is heavy on atmosphere but always with a focus on melody. From beautiful slices of melancholy to blasts of pure power pop, the band was determined that every song would be the best if could be. Produced by Toby Lloyd of Tiny Triumph Recordings, the band knew they had a collaborator who could help with the band’s cinematic vision that could stretch beyond a traditional three-piece sound. In the studio, the band were able to play an array of instruments to colour the songs, drawing from a deep well of musical influences that traverse across styles such as indie-folk, post-rock, brit-pop, new wave, and alt-country, while never really fitting neatly into any of these baskets.

Search For Yeti came together five years ago. Bringing together the talents of Sean Barker, Luke Marlow and Vince Waide. Luke and Vince were the main songwriters in a previous band, What Noisy Cats, who released an EP and album that was acclaimed by music critics and publications across New Zealand. When the band ended, in large part due to their drummer relocating to France, Luke went on to form Tiger Meet Lion, a harder edged trio with Sean on drums. Ironically Sean then also relocated to France at the end of that band! Vince and Luke remained in contact, and eventually came back into each other’s musical orbit. This time, deciding not to come in with any pre-written songs, but instead to simply jam and see if they had their own sound. This could have been risky, but it was immediately obvious the two had something that was collectively unique together. Whereas previously Luke had played guitar and Vince bass, this time Vince also brought in Moog Taurus bass synth foot pedals, enabling him to play bass parts while also playing electric guitar. This instantly created a more atmospheric sound and a greater range of options. As the pair started to look for drummers, Sean then fortuitously returned to Wellington. It’s a widely used cliché, but from the first moment the three jammed together it was evident there was something special happening...

Rarely a band where everyone agrees at first, the strong opinions and differing influences means only the
best song ideas survive. With Luke as lead vocalist there’s a cohesion to their sound, while Sean and Vince contribute multiple harmonies and counter-vocals. Live, the band have played alongside a range of acts, with a level of dynamics and depth of sound that frequently has people coming up to ask how it’s achieved. When asked earlier to describe their sound, the band suggested “Search For Yeti - sometimes noisy, sometimes not”. That might still be the best description, but with an album now out, maybe it’s time for the world to see what it thinks.

Dark So Soon is out now on major streaming platforms.

Dark So Soon album release show:

Thursday 5th December: Meow, Wellington (with Harris and Sig Wilder & Friends)

Tickets

Comments

Return to News Archive