Yellow Days, the alter-ego of British singer-songwriter George van den Broek, hits the road with his third full-length album, Hotel Heaven. The home town show begins with a hotel receptionist introducing the support acts, making it crystal clear from the outset that not only is this a concept album, it’s a concept performance and it’s fully realised live this evening. The stage atheistic creates an eerie vibe, it feels like Yellow Days is performing in the jazz club of a haunted house curated by Stanley Kubrick, there is a sense of ambiguity to the events unfolding around the performance which adds greatly to the the show as a whole and it’s not long before the primal sounds of the blues kick in. A lot of thought and detail has been put into this and it’s not lost on the audience, who at one point find themselves gripped by a surreal tale of a hotel patron phoning reception in search of a stringray centred meal.
With Hotel Heaven, Yellow Days ventures into dystopian territory, weaving together a narrative that explores themes of luxury, fame, and existential disillusionment. Drawing inspiration from musical icons like Ray Charles and Thundercat, Yellow Days infuses his eclectic sound with modern sensibilities, creating a experience that blurs genre lines. George instantly sets his stall out with the opening song Welcome to Hotel Heaven, wearing his heart on his sleeve with his Lennon-esqe vocals. It’s intentionally hypnotic with it’s repetition and towards the end of the track the funk and jazz club vibes start to seep to the forefront. It’s addictive to say the least. Speaking of addictive, Mrs Moonlight is next and boy, that’s one hell of a catchy tune, grooves with a soulful melody make the perfect combination, long live the blues. A highlight of Hotel Heaven for sure and a track that really lets Yellow Days shine with all of his uniqueness and talent. The album is played in it’s entirety, again fully committing to the concept. Crying for Help at the Suite is more experimental and introspective and Planet Earth is as ballad-y as they come, in the best possible way. It’s quite the experience. If you get a chance to check in at Hotel Heaven, you’ll be sure to have the best of times.
Photos by Alex Cropper
Go Places Do Things 