Danish art rockers Yung are releasing their new album Ongoing Dispute in January, and following on from recent blast “Above Water” they have now shared “Such a Man”. Lyrically, the song comes from an experience that made singer Mikkel think twice about his preconceived notions. He says:
“A recent personal experience had sparked a train of reflection on manhood, fuelling the writing process and making its way into the song. Growing up, masculinity was portrayed to me as something very one-sided. The experience referenced in the lyrics helped me realise a pattern in coping with loss and pain in the archetypical man. I think from a subconscious point of view I needed to address that in order to fully reevaluate my childhood image of manliness.”
Sonically, “Such a Man” is a tour-de-force from Yung, who move through jangle pop, atmospheric rock, and straight-ahead post-punk all in the space of three minutes. What’s impressive is that, while sonically engrossing, Mikkel’s words still stand out, as he describes several images that seem somewhat innocuous, but all feed into the idea of what masculinity really is. It all boils down to a single haunting image “he forgot his keys that morning / and all the doors in the city are locked,” which can be interpreted in many ways, but with Yung providing echoing soundscape at that precise moment it skews towards the hallucinogenic. This then gets subverted as they thunder back into the power punk chorus, where Mikkel screams about “self inflicted wounds” and that “his face is scarred by shame.” It’s a real thrill.
Yung’s new album Ongoing Dispute comes out January 22 on PNKSLM. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
