New Zealand indie pop band Yumi Zouma played Union Transfer in Philly on Tuesday, April 12th. They’re currently touring in support of their brand new LP Present Tense, the band’s second release on Polyvinyl Records (and fourth LP overall). Singer-songwriter/guitarist NoSo was scheduled to open, but they were unfortunately a no-show (due to a non-COVID-related health issue).
Yumi Zouma released their 2020 LP Truth or Consequences in the wake of the first COVID lockdown and managed to play exactly 1 show of their sold out North American tour before it got canceled. With band members based globally, the recording of Present Tense occurred through both remote and in-person sessions. On this latest album, the band experiments with more expansive sounds and textures – a palpable shift from their prior releases which more closely align to the synth-pop descriptor. It’s their best release to date, with standout tracks like “Give It Hell“, “Where The Light Used To Lay“, and “In The Eyes Of Our Love“.
The venue was comfortably crowded by the time Yumi Zouma took the stage for their 8:45 set time. As the band’s unofficial spokesperson for the evening, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Josh Burgess surveyed if there were any kiwis in the crowd to which he heard crickets; however, that didn’t stop him from being chatty. He bantered on regarding such sundry topics as Michelangelo inventing the helicopter 600 years ago and Philadelphia being the best level in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game. Their set skewed heavy with tracks off their latest releases – they concluded their regular set with “Astral Projection” (the closing track on Present Tense), a song that starts off with a new wave-ish guitar riff (a la The Cure) and is perfectly suited for blasting while driving with the windows down. They ended the night with a 2-song encore that included “The Brae”, a track off their 2014 debut EP. Check out the full setlist below.
Yumi Zouma will be continuing on their North American tour through the beginning of May with support from Mini Trees, JORDANN, and Beauty Queen on select dates. See all of their upcoming tour dates here. Check out their music video for “Where The Light Used To Lay” (the second of 3 music videos from Present Tense directed by Alex Ross Perry) below and keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
Yumi Zouma Setlist (4/12/2022):
– Southwark
– Crush (It’s Late, Just Stay)
– Truer Than Ever
– Powder Blue / Cascine Park
– Where the Light Used to Lay
– Cool for a Second
– Right Track / Wrong Man
– In Camera
– Depths (Part I)
– Give It Hell
– In the Eyes of Our Love
– December
– Mona Lisa
– Astral Projection
// Encore //
– Bruise
– The Brae
