Yuck is the brainchild of childhood friends Max Bloom and Daniel Blumberg, two London guitarists (by birth, which is rare!) with an equal passion for art. At the age of six, they become friends. At twelve, they formed a temporary punk band. In high school, they decided to form a band for good...
The Cajun Dance Party was born in 2007. Max Bloom and Daniel Blumberg joined forces with Robbie Stern, Will Vignoles and Vicky Freund. After months of wowing the crowds with concerts in London's trendy clubs, they signed to the prestigious XL label and released their only album, The Colourful Life, in 2008. The following year, when their partners went off to university, Bloom and Blumberg felt cramped within their own structure. They put an end to it with a clear objective: to form a new band.
They recruited Japanese-born bassist Mariko Doi and American drummer Jonny Rogoff, whom Blumber had met during a stay on a kibbutz in the middle of the Israeli desert. To join Yuck in London, Rogoff abandoned New Jersey and his own band. Sometimes, Blumberg's sister Liana takes on the role of singer. In March 2010, a first single, Georgia, inspired by The Cure's "Friday i'm in Love", won over a press that had been waiting since the dissolution of Cajun Dance Party.
In October of the same year, the single Rubber confirmed the writing talent of the Bloom-Blumberg tandem, barely 20 years old. Even Scottish alternative scene stalwarts Mogwai took an interest in their music, remixing "Rubber". In between, a cassette-only EP, Weakend, delighted the music press and a growing audience.
Yuck's debut album, of the same name, was released in February 2011 on the Fat Possum label. At the same time, the quartet opens for Teenage Fanclub (one of their favorite bands) and Dum Dum Girls. Yuck was acclaimed not only in the UK, where they were recognized as one of the only bands with a secret, but also in the rest of Europe, charmed by their garage and shoegaze-influenced rock. This reception in no way diminishes the creative energy of the band, and in particular of Daniel Blumberg, who also embarks on a solo project, Oupa, in spring 2011.
