With their second LP, the self-titled “Cora Yako,” the Mallorcan band based in Madrid takes a step forward, refining their sound to deliver a new collection of songs that navigate equally between indie-pop melancholy and shoegaze destruction.

The band has spent the last year and a half building a wall of guitars and writing stories and feelings on it with which you can identify. The architects, in this case, are Cora Yako themselves, as it is a self-produced album recorded between their studio and El Lado Izquierdo (Dani Richter’s studio where the drums were recorded).

It seems futile to talk about a change in sound for a band like Cora Yako, who have just begun their journey in the music scene (2019), but since releasing their first self-titled single and their debut album ‘Una de los Nuestros’ (Intromusica 2020), they have refined their sound until they have settled into a style that fits them perfectly.

Throughout these 10 songs, Cora Yako alternates enveloping and sharp sounds, where the guitars play an increasingly prominent role, accompanied by “sorrowful” and evocative lyrics with which anyone can identify.

The album opens with “Noche Estelar,” the fastest and most electric single on the record. It’s a song that tells the story of an unexpected encounter in a karaoke, a conversation with a stranger who seems like someone you’ve known all your life. The magic of the fortuitous also seems to be a constant in songs like “Fin de Semana” or “Beso en un Portal,” which tells the story of a casual encounter that becomes habitual. Little by little, without even realizing it, you end up faking hobbies and saying yes to everything.

Introversion makes its way in songs like “Cuestiones Avanzadas” or “Mil Formas de Morir,” which reflects a conversation with oneself, full of contradictions and reasons not to listen to your inner voice.

Irony and depth intermingle in the brilliant “Campamento Krusty” and the striking “Souvenirs” and “Uno Entre un Millón” to end on a high note with “Días Nuevos, Días Viejos” and “Fiesta de Despedida.”
Heirs to both the noise and grunge of the ’90s and the post-punk revival of the 2000s and the DIY philosophy, Cora Yako is the ideal combination of both worlds, and their new album is a powerful amalgam of distorted guitars and infectious pop melodies. Cora Yako is composed of Luis de Oleza (guitar and vocals), Carlos Sennacheribbo (guitar and vocals), Dani Treviño (bass), and Pablo Gutiérrez (drums), and they take their name from a character in the play “Prohibido Suicidarse en Primavera” by Alejandro Casona.