Having first grabbed attention as the frontman of beloved New Zealand outfit King Cannons, Luke Yeoward has returned a few long years after the disbandment of his former outfit to bring us his debut solo effort, Ghosts.
Taken from that record, ‘Who Can Save Us Now’ is a fierce return to the energetic and uplifting punk rock he first brought to our eardrums with King Cannons, Yeoward well and truly settled in its Strummer-esque energy and clearly with a renewed passion.
Much of that energy no doubt stems from the album’s recording process, which saw Yeoward heading to an LA studio to lay the record down on an 8-track in less than a month – a punk vibe felt especially strongly on ‘Who Can Save Us Now’.
“This is a punk rock song to me and I think what I’m trying to say is that we are the only ones who can save ourselves,” Luke says. “Kind of like how Bob Marley said ‘None but ourselves can free our minds’…
“At the same time I’m also saying that there are things in this world that are fucked beyond repair and the political climate in the USA in the lead up to the election only heightened my awareness on this,” he adds. “Our systems, our habits, the gap between the privileged and under privileged, suffering, warfare, greed, ignorance.
“We always look for external solutions but what will truly bring harmony? What a romantic thought.”
Having spent the last few years moving back and forth between his birthplace of New Zealand and the creative hub of Melbourne, Yeoward is treating both of his homelands to album launch shows this week, starting with a solo show at Auckland’s Whammy Bar on Saturday May 20, and finishing up with a set at Melbourne’s Toff on Saturday May 27 with his band The Half Way.
Ghosts is available now through Yeoward’s own Half Way Records.
Luke Yeoward Ghosts album launch
May 20 | Whammy Bar | Auckland (Solo) – TICKETS
May 27 | The Toff | Melbourne (w/ The Half Way)
