In this feature we ask mainstays of the music establishment who they think will be the next big act to break.

This time we caught up with guitarist extraordinaire Max Bloom, the now frontman of alt-rock heroes Yuck, to get the low down on his favourite new acts.

Making a massive breakthrough with their seminal self-titled 2011 album, which featured anthems 'Get Away', 'The Wall' and 'Georgia' amongst many others, Yuck received a wealth of praise for their gritty yet powerful lo-fi sound. Joined by bassist Mariko Doi and drummer Jonny Rogoff, at the time, band founders Bloom and fellow vocalist/guitarist Daniel Blumberg were no strangers to industry attention, having previously played together in their short but successful spurt in Cajun Dance Party. Departing in 2013 to pursue his solo efforts, Blumberg left the acclaimed project shortly before the recording of their second album - the comparatively poppier Glow and Behold, which was recorded in New York with respected producer and mix engineer Chris Coady. With their most recent album appearing back in 2016 via their own label Mame Records, Yuck have been making something of a comeback as of late. Embarking on a recent flurry of tour dates across Asia as well as an unexpected intimate headline show at Hackney's Moth Club back in October, which provided equal parts euphoria and nostalgia; we figured now was as good a time as any to get the scoop on Yuck's top musical tips. 

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Luby Sparks

I first played with Luby Sparks in Hiroshima back in 2016. We stayed in touch, and they ended up coming to London in 2017 to record their debut album with me. Since then I’ve worked on pretty much everything they’ve released. Their music is constantly evolving - their latest single touches on influences like Cocteau Twins & Lush.



Thud

Thud are a 5-piece band from Hong Kong, and they’ve supported us pretty much every time we’ve played there. I mixed their as yet unreleased debut album and a couple of their singles. Their album is a real progression from the material they’ve released. They have a very shoegaze/electronic sound, very atmospheric and melodic.



Heavy Heart

I’m lucky enough to have Anna (vocals), Patrick (guitar) and Craig (drums) from Heavy Heart in my backing band for my solo stuff. I met Heavy Heart for the first time when we played a festival in Valencia in 2016. At that point they were just starting out. Since then, they released a song every month for a year, which turned into their debut album, ‘Keepsake.’ They’ve also released 3 new songs this year. Their sound is very melodic, sometimes uplifting, sometimes melancholy, with amazing guitar tones and beautiful soaring vocals.



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We'll be keeping an eye out for more activity from Yuck over the coming months but in the meantime you can check out Max's brilliant new solo project via his own dedicated Facebook page here now.

-Holly Mullineaux