LOUD WOMEN Fest alumnus YNES is no stranger to giving her all and more to her music, channelling the emotional aftershocks from life’s successes and hardships into barbed lyrics and hardened brit-rock beats with punk undertones. With her come-back single ‘What Was It All For???’, the Coventry-based artist delves into one of the rawest times of her life and translates it into lyrical catharsis over a grungy rock rhythm that’s hopelessly hopeful.
Guitars shift from minor to major chords, an echoing reverbed effect dropping away for a sound with sharp clarity – from the first few bars this sounds like the undulating mood swings of emotional upheaval, leaving you unsure what to feel. Ynes sings matter-of-factly with a richness to the pitch, lamenting wanting to be something more for everyone else’s expectations with an undertone of forced positivity. With each new section of crackly grunge rock, the nostalgia for a time Ynes can’t get back grows in tandem with the layered instruments, a fuzzed guitar riff breaking through from the second verse while the distortion and vocals grows in volume. As it begins to feel like the song is closing in around you, the bridge turns up the drum beat that’s been working understatedly in the background into a crisper sound with sharp cymbals, matching the growing frustration of Ynes repeatedly asking the same question, finally letting loose with a higher cry of “what the fuck was it all for?”, before the track drops to an abrupt stop and a fading guitar note.
While it’s grounded in specific experiences and emotions, the sentiment can be applied to so many instances in life where you don’t feel good enough or feel shame for something you once were, when people around you tell you all is forgiven but you can’t shake the fear they still see you a certain way. For Ynes, overcoming hardships and really committing to her music is mingled with experiences she’s worked to rectify and move on from, becoming a new version of herself. It’s a song for when you’re down on your luck or need a moment just to feel sorry for yourself, knowing full well you’ll get back up and you won’t quit.
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