Vindicator

Yukon Blondes first album to be entirely self-produced and self-recorded, Vindicator was prepared and tracked in various kitchens, closets, and cabins as well as at their rehearsal space in East Vancouver. The Juno nominees fifth full-length overall, it returns the five-piece lineup of 2018s Critical Hit but puts a more relaxed, self-assured spin on their familiar mix of indie rock and buoyant synth pop. They even opt for a midtempo opener in the form of Its What You Are, easing listeners into the warm, 11-track set with a deliberate groove. The songs airy synths, prominent bass line, and mildly trippy atmospheres are marks of the whole album, which nonetheless changes things up along the way. YGTT (you got that thing) leans into the bass line on a sparer arrangement that highlights a seductive, yearning vocal line, at least before pausing for a guitar solo drenched in effects. The sultry Play Along is another midtempo groover but with a more staccato bearing, and the sweetly poppy In Love Again relies more heavily on jangly guitar tones. An album spattered with R&B stylings, the funkiest moment on Vindicator is penultimate entry Get Precious, which dials up the wah-wah effects also present elsewhere in the track list. A generally uplifting affair, the record closes on Big Black Cloud, which, in character, turns out to be a spirited repudiation of sullenness many BPM brisker than the opener. Throughout these stylistic tweaks, Vindicator offers Yukon Blondes usual abundance of potential earworms, if simultaneously dialing the exuberance back a notch. ~ Marcy Donelson