New Zealand natives Yumi Zouma make ethereal indie pop that is every bit as dreamy as is prime for dancing. The group returned in 2017 with their sophomore album Willowbank, released via Cascine Records.
On January 19 the band returned for the first of two sold out shows at Baby’s All Right on the second leg of their tour in support of the album. The night began with a rather lovely opening performance from Canadian singer Helena Deland, who will return with her new collection of songs entitled From the Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied” Vol. I on March 2 via Luminelle Recordings.
I was long overdue to catch Yumi Zouma live at this point and there was no better place for my first experience with them than Baby’s. Their dreamy sound was a good fit for the tight quarters of Baby’s, a venue which I strangely hadn’t visited in a while. The band took the stage and immediately set the mood for the rest of the night, one that had people lost in a dream-state of sorts, swaying and dancing with ease.
The set had a heavy focus on new material from Willowbank (with “Depths (Pt. 1),”Us, Together” as standouts) but also took key songs from all of their other releases, with songs such as even stretching back to EP II with “Alena,” “Songs For Zoe & Gwen” and “Catastrophe.” No matter what they played the crowd was with them every step of the way for a perfect Friday evening of live music.
The highlight of the show came towards the end of their regular set, when the band asked us to let bassist Charlie Ryder crowd surf for the first time, as he would begin a normal day job upon returning home. I can’t say that I expected any of the band members to crowd surf during this show, which made it a real pleasant surprise.
Find the setlist posted below along with a full gallery of photos from both Helena Deland and Yumi Zouma.
Helena Deland:
Yumi Zouma:
Yumi Zouma Setlist:
1. Depths (Pt. 1)
2. Keep It Close To Me
3. Song for Zoe & Gwen
4. Us, Together
5. Barricade (Matter of Fact)
6. Persephone
7. Other People
8. In Blue
9. December
10. The Brae
11. Yesterday
12. Sålka Gets Her Hopes Up
13. Catastrophe
Encore:
14. Alena
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