Review Summary: introvert pop
Present Tense feels like an awakening for Yumi Zouma. Not any kind of “woah, we’re living in a simulation?!”-esque awakening, but rather one where the band fully open their eyes to witness a peaceful sunrise after an equally peaceful dream. Throughout their career, the New Zealand outfit have obscured sugary pop hooks in washed out synths and dream pop aesthetics. This worked out beautifully on 2017’s excellently low-key
Willowbank, but three years later it was getting harder to shake the feeling that new songs like ‘Lonely After’ and ‘Southwark’ could have
popped so much more if given the opportunity. Now,
Present Tense finally takes the gentle leap by cutting through the static: it’s an adorably restrained indie pop record.
For the very first time, vocalist Christie Simpson truly embraces the spotlight, allowing the music to accentuate her lovely melodies rather than solely enhancing atmospheres. Her voice is soothing yet confident, tracing blissful sonic shapes in Yumi Zouma’s canvas of playfully subdued indie. Opener ‘Give It Hell’ functions as the antithesis to its title while adding explicitly summery touches to the band’s eternally mellow framework. Even if it is explicitly low-key and somewhat homogeneous throughout,
Present Tense still presents some nice surprises. ‘Razorblade’s contextually overwhelming shoegaze textures; the tastefully integrated saxophone touches on ‘Mona Lisa’; ‘Astral Projection’s slightly darker post-punk tones: it’s all more than enough to keep the record steadily afloat.
Present Tense is a comfort album on the pleasant side of catchy; it’s the perfect collection of songs to augment your mood when the weather climbs to twenty-something centigrade.
