Wonders of the Yukon hit the sweet spot between David Gilmour and David Lynch with their latest single and video Every Once In A While — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“There’s a sense of seductive serenity,” muses Andy Campbell of the British alt-folk duo’s latest offering. “It’s an uneasy longing, and edgy anticipation.” Adds musical partner Dave Langdale: “It’s the bowler rearranging the field. There’s a bouncer coming. You know it’s coming, you just don’t know when. It’s the shimmering image through the heat-haze.”
This hypnotic sense of floating mid-fever dream is par for the course when it comes to Wonders of the Yukon; set on a bouncing backdrop of squelching guitars and laser-guided melodies, previous single Cartoon Dreams captured the stark sense of one’s own mortality, delivering a tale of existential angst with a liberal sprinkling of surreal absurdism. “That song considers the dichotomy between religion and evolution, and pits God against Darwin,” they say. “Faith against genetics.”
As heard since their breakthrough EP Songs of Mild Peril (2018) and follow-up singles, Wonders of the Yukon’s growing body of work amplifies the band’s affinity for both toying with the darker side of American culture with their homegrown Northern England sensibility. With a sound described as having a liquor-soaked romance, replete with soothing harmony and rattling emotion, this is a band that came together by chance; their partners are childhood best friends who also lived around the corner from each other. Previously, Campbell and Langdale have shared stages with the likes of Pavement, Granddaddy, Sparklehorse, Bootsy Collins and more before creating Wonders Of The Yukon. And as for that name, here’s how that conversation came about:
Dave: “I really like the word Yukon.”
Andy: “Yeah, it’s cool. It’s a place, isn’t it?”
Dave: “It’s in Canada. It’s bleak and beautiful.”
Andy: “Hmmm. Sounds quite apt for our music.”
Dave: “I was reading about Yukon Territory … Fantastic wildlife, the Northern Lights, vast and wide open spaces, harmonious nature…”
Andy: “Yukon Territory sounds pretty good.”
From there, the pair did a quick Google search, and discovered it was already taken. “I just still loved the word Yukon,” Campbell continued, not inclined to let it go so easily. “It sounded like something from a sci-fi movie, like it came straight out of Flash Gordon. ‘Ming the Merciless approaching from the planet Yukon.’ Langadle agreed: “Yeah, it sounded otherworldly.” Luckily, an image came to Campbell: “I just saw ‘Wonders Of The Yukon…’ Like a heading or chapter in a novel or newspaper.” Or the name of a really great band from Wakefield, England.
Watch Every Once In A While above, hear more from Wonders Of The Yukon below, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
