YELLOW DAYS
SHARES VIDEO FOR LEAD SINGLE ‘SHARON’
WATCH HERE
TAKEN FROM NEW ALBUM
‘ROCK AND A HARD PLACE’
OUT FEBUARY 13TH VIA INDEPENDENT CO.
photo credit: Lewis Vorn
To be lost is to be free – as was the case for British singer, songwriter, & producer Yellow Days (aka Geoge van den Broek). The countryside boy turned Londoner returns with his larger than life new album ‘Rock and a Hard Place’, out February 13th on Independent Co.
Over the albums soulful 14 tracks, the multi-instrumentalist thrives in an unsettled state, looking for inspiration both old and new to introduce his reemergence as Yellow Days. The new record has guided van den Broek – from the beginning of his career he learned to harness his voice into what he calls a “wonky,” lo-fi sound that endeared him to fans of artists like Tyler, the Creator and Mac Demarco.
Alongside the album’s announcement, Yellow Days returns with the potent new single ‘Sharon’, an explosive tease of the record to come, inspired by the sounds of legendary artists Sly & The’ Family Stone and Ray Charles.
Over a brass-heavy arrangement, Yellow Days reflects on a deep friendship he’s maintained, noting, “‘Sharon’ is about confiding in a female confidant and friend. I was inspired by being stuck in a lost period in life and the late-night conversations that would happen in a smoking area of a bar – indulging on themes of self-destructive tendencies and friendship. This song is ultimately about a friend helping you through a rough patch. Quietly encouraging you to follow your heart and not to get distracted by all the complications around you. A friend who believes in you despite your messy life.”
Watch the Clint Frift-directed video for “Sharon” HERE
“SHARON” VIDEO EMBED
More info on Yellow Days & A Rock In A Hard Place
What started as a bedroom passion project in pastoral Surrey, soon catapulted van den Broek aka Yellow Days to notoriety in the States, where he’d amassed a following. Following Harmless Melodies and Is Everything OK in Your World?, he released his major-label debut, A Day in a Yellow Beat, on Columbia.
Yellow Days’ new album, ‘Rock and a Hard Place’, opens with a small tragedy. Rendered from a real-life experience, the instrumental track ‘Roadkill’ documents the quiet death of a bird whose plumage George van den Broek noticed just before it was hit by a truck. Without knowing the backstory, a casual listener can picture it as the instrumentals tremble, crescendo, and collapse, mirroring the moment of impact. “The bird’s death was almost operatic”, van den Broek says. “It was horrible and dramatic, but also kind of beautiful.”
Van den Broek refers to the time between 2020’s ‘A Day in a Yellow Beat’ and ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ as the “lost years.” During the making of ‘Rock and a Hard Place’, van den Broek felt a “lightness on my feet.” Working out the songs on this record was like a long exhalation, a dismissal of the insecurities he’d harbored since his teen years. Obsessing over Ray Charles led him to hire a jazz fusion band out of Newcastle who could help him bring his vision to life. There is a vintage sheen to ‘Rock and a Hard Place’–van den Broek also cites Stevie Wonder and P-Funk as influences–but it is a record very much of its moment. At no other point in time could van den Broek have made it. Those “lost years” were transformative; all the time van den Broek initially thought were wasted contributed to the evolution of Yellow Days. “This feels like the most serious music I’ve made in a long time,” van den Broek says. It is the music he is most proud of.
Van den Broek describes ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ as being about “people pleasing,” an impulse he’s had since he was a young artist making his way despite the odds. But even if it’s about people pleasing, van den Broek didn’t write ‘Rock and a Hard Place‘ to please anyone other than himself. “That lost period was necessary. I spent that time really perfecting my playing and singing,” he reflects. “It feels like it was all worth it to me.”
Album art
Rock And A Hard Place Tracklist
1. ROADKILL
2. SPECIAL KIND OF WOMAN
3. LET ME DOWN EASY
4. GLITTER & GOLD
5. SHARON
6. LOVE IS GETTING COMPLICATED
7. BABY I’M FOR REAL
8. I CANNOT BELIEVE IN TOMORROW
9. WORRIED I’LL BREAK YOUR HEART
10. SHOOT ME WITH YOUR LOVE GUN
11. DAYLIGHT MIRACLES
12. CALIFORNIA
13. CAN’T FIGHT THE TEARS
14. YOU DIDN’T LEAVE ME
FOLLOW YELLOW DAYS