International alternative rock band Yumi Zouma may have delivered the song of the summer with their newest single, “Blister,” released via Nettwerk. The band harnesses raw energy and embraces reckless abandon, shedding their former guise of introspective dream pop purveyors in favor of raw power in the vein of “Song 2,” “Connection,” “Kool Thing,” and more.
Leaning fully into the thrashy break-beats of drummer Olivia Campion and distorted guitars of Charlie Ryder and Josh Burgess, frontwoman Christie Simpson screams, “Why you gotta do me like that?!”, channeling the likes of Courtney Love, Iggy Pop, and Kathleen Hanna, and crystallizing “Blister” as a genuine moment of era-defining, rock-star perfection.
“Blister” follows up on the success of “Bashville on the Sugar,” the band’s unruly first single on Nettwerk, which introduced this fearless new chapter ahead.
On “Blister,” Yumi Zouma shares, “We found strength in simplicity, discovering that the more stripped-down we went, the more forceful the impact became. “Blister” surged ahead on the back of our most anthemic riffs, conjuring images in our minds of C4, Channel Z, prepaid flip-phone text plans, and the Big Day Out main stage under the punishing heat of the hole in the ozone layer.”
Composed of members Christie Simpson (vocals, keyboards), Josh Burgess (guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards), Charlie Ryder (guitar, bass, keyboards), and Olivia Campion (drums), Yumi Zouma originally joined forces in 2013 out of New Zealand. Since then, each member (Olivia joined in 2017) has ventured separately into different cities. Christie lives in Melbourne, Charlie in London, Josh in New York, and Olivia in Wellington, New Zealand.
