Yves Tumor creates a genre-bending soundscape on new album

Yves Tumor, 33-year-old music artist and producer, recently made a comeback. Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds), their fifth studio album, is a finished product calling attention to their driving force for redefining themselves as an artist.

Yves Tumor consistently incorporates over-the-top aspects of glam rock through their theatrical presentation while bringing about high energy performances with musical influences derived from post-punk and neo-psychedelia. With an unsettling scream and panicked breathing, “God Is a Circle” starts off the 37-minute record, setting the tone for what undisputedly is a dark, thrilling full-length album. The beat-to-beat ticking variation similar to an old film countdown also lingers throughout the track, adding to the horror-movie experience that director, Jordan Hemingway, imagined for the music video. Still, the steady basslines and sporadic distortions give rise to its modern-day fusion between rock and experimental music.

With dramatic changes made to the overall production and instrumentation compared to past projects, Yves Tumor successfully collaborated with record producers, Noah Goldstein and Alan Moulder, to create a genre-bending soundscape. Since releasing Heaven to a Tortured Mind in  2020 and The Asymptotical World EP in 2021, Yves Tumor creatively progresses by blending in more tracks with electronic elements, especially on “Operator” and later tracks like “In Spite of War” and “Purified By the Fire.” Though “Lovely Sewer” is the only song that has a feature on the record, Kidä, a music artist and composer, builds on a soft, delicate quality to the chorus alongside the abrasiveness of Yves Tumor’s vocal delivery. But they didn’t shy away from switching up their singing style to a falsetto on a few singles like “Parody” and “Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood.”

Yves Tumor tends to draw inspiration from spiritual themes to lyrically express feelings associated with love and intimacy. Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) isn’t the exception to their recurrent artistic vision. On “Ebony Eye,” overlining the ceremonial synth melodies and ambient guitar chords, they chant “I can’t describe this glowing light / There’s no other way than the pearly gates / I found my holy place.” Yet, the lines “I’ll wait, so we can parlay / We watch the city vibrate / We can do it your way” in “Fear Evil like Fire” unfortunately fall flat for sounding generic. Despite this, the repetitiveness makes it a fun, catchy track that stands out on the record.

From start to finish, Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) transcends expectations. If not for their fresh, innovative looks, it won’t be a surprise if Yves Tumor continues to receive high praise by being a game-changer within the present rock music scene.