As frontman for late-’90s UK indie rock band, Unbelievable Truth, Andy Yorke crafted atmospheric pop songs with his bandmates, but has now discovered the ease of total control with his debut solo release, Simple, available Oct 7 digitally and Nov 18 on CD from Chocolate Lab Records.
Andy left Unbelievable Truth in 2000 after a number of critically-acclaimed albums and six-digit sales figures. He exiled himself to Russia, working as a translator for Greenpeace, vowing never to pick up a guitar again.
In spite of this promise, Andy found broken relationships and personal demons driving him to write. “The songs were me trying to help and feel better about everything,†he says. “I was writing in spite of myself. They were therapy.â€
Recording for the first time under his own name, Andy has laid himself bare. “I thought it was important. I didn’t want to go by a band name. It is different, now it is just 100 percent me and my songs.†Andy has never wanted to invite questions about or references to his brother, Thom. But he smiles, “I still see there are potential problems going by the name Andy Yorke. But fuck it, it’s my name.â€
Simple is as deceptive a title as there is. The album is stunningly complex in structure and substance. The title track opens the album with little more than a faintly plucked guitar and Andy’s delicate, yet commanding voice assuring us that we “Know that it’s simple” before a lilting drum and graceful cello fill the ether. “One in a Million†and “Lay Down†recall the best of Unbelievable Truth, while “Surrender†envelopes the listener in acoustic guitar, strings and Andy’s affecting voice. An album skirting rock, folk and pop; Simple fits into any music collection with ease.
Discover who the press is calling “an artier, one-man version of the Fray†(The Washington Post) and “rawer and more haunting than that of contemporaries like Damien Rice†(Rock Sound).
Andy is now on tour in Europe and Asia with plans for a 2009 US tour in the works.
www.andyyorke.com
www.chocolatelabrecords.com