Throughout his short yet potent career, we have seen many sides of Yeek. His earlier work nods to lo-fi bedroom pop while some of his more recent releases have the Jersey City-bred musician leaning towards harsher electronic arrangements. The thing that connects these two opposing sonic worlds is Yeek’s thirst for innovation and fearless creativity, allowing his ideas to pull him in a million directions at once to produce consistent albums that entertain the artist’s loftiest concepts.
This time around Yeek is looking to do the impossible, predict the future. The artist’s latest album, Future Reference feels like a weight is being lifted off of the artist’s shoulders as his years of experimentation blend with his natural songwriting abilities for an all-encompassing set of songs. For 15 tracks, the artist takes us on a mystical sonic journey that explores the artist’s past releases while dealing with current emotions and attempting to create music that outlasts himself. On paper, this task seems impossible but when an artist like Yeek puts his mind to something, there is nothing stopping him. Yeek traverses relaxed instrumentals with smooth melodies to craft his most cohesive yet daring album to date, all for the sake of longevity and high-quality, low-pressure pop.
Yeek has been releasing music for nearly a decade now so his attempt to encapsulate his many eras and sounds seems almost impossible, Future Reference makes it sound so easy though. The deep grooves and irresistible tempos are lined with infectious melodies that seemingly come alive and parade around your head. Yeek discovered a formula that works perfectly for his simplistic yet intoxicating songwriting, highlighting a new side of the artist’s lyrics that we haven’t seen before. The components that make up these songs may seem minimalist on the surface but with every listen a new layer shows itself in a humble manner. The album evokes the warmth of an analog recording while still looking toward the future to find its fundamental sonics, allowing Yeek to explore new areas of his artistry while perfecting the elements that made his past releases so memorable. While Future Reference seems like an attempt to cement this part of Yeek’s career while foreshadowing where the artist is going next, the magic of this record comes in its ability to be present and in the moment.
On the production side, Yeek crafted danceable simplicity that feels relaxed yet in command at the same time. The album kicks off with “Before I Go”, the undeniably fun track that has the artist setting the tone for his latest LP. The lyrics have Yeek worried about squeezing the most out of life over a neck-breaking drum pattern and rolling piano chords. This concoction conjures up a plethora of emotions from the jump, a key element to the production side of Future Reference. Each of these instrumentals is able to achieve so much with so little which speaks volumes to the man behind them. “Up At 3” toes the line between a club banger and a soundtrack to the perfect sunset while the Raveena-assisted “Searching For Yourself” is pure indie-pop bliss. The juxtaposition of these instrumentals may be clear from your first listen but with every press of the play button, a different nuanced element appears to add to the cohesive nature of these songs. Yeek found a playful middle ground to deploy his heartfelt lyrics over, lyrics that seem elevated from his past releases.
Along with a newfound sonic realm, Yeek’s lyrics are also entering a new era. It is easy to be wrapped in the radiating warmth of these instrumentals but it’s his natural songwriting abilities that truly put a bow on Future Reference. He is writing like he never has before, allowing the concept of his songs to display his inner monologue while staying easily relatable. The vulnerability of the album’s outro, “Last Night In Town” sounds radio-ready while leaning on its lush melody and off-kilter sonics for a sense of uniqueness, allowing his lyrics to become the centerpiece of this dreamy orchestration. “Daylight Savings” marks a moody turn for the album while the rolling high-hats on “Global Warming” have Yeek flexing his falsetto to deliver pure poetry. Everything about Yeek’s artistry is elevated on his latest effort and his songwriting is no exception as the artist tackles an array of topics with grace and confidence.
On Future Reference, Yeek has crafted an opus. By looking back at his past, exploring his current surroundings, and setting sonic goals for the future the artist landed on a sound so fun and clean it will have you rushing back for a second listen. He traverses varying tempos with ease and allows the welcoming feeling of this song to carry the weight of consistency while letting himself dive into whatever thought or sound moved him at the moment. By playing around with the freedom of artistry, Yeek seemingly perfected a sound he created all those years ago by simply following his unique creative path and allowing every little part of himself to be on full display. Future Reference is more than another album to come out this year, it is a statement of Yeek’s artistic merit that doesn’t take itself too seriously but produces the best music of the young artist’s career.
