"The Daily Male" by YNES

While YNES is preparing herself to play the Left Field Stage at Glastonbury at the specific invitation of its curator Billy Bragg, her brand new single "The Daily Male" has hit the streets.

Coming pretty hot on the heels of the excellent "Fake What Your Mama Gave Ya", this song takes the stiletto skewering on that previous release & applies it to multiple targets.

Generally speaking, taking on more than one subject to deflate it runs the risk of spreading your ammunition too thinly and as YNES goes for sub three minute songs to focus her attack, that means you have to be damn good at your craft or else the arrows can be shrugged off.

Fortunately YNEs is exceedingly good at this sort of thing (why on else would Billy Bragg rate her?) and as is her wont, goes on the offensive with plenty of glee, humour & panache.

Taking on the relatives of pseuds targeted last time out, YNEs expands this now to include the whole patriarchy, male violence, misogyny, racism, bigotry & the toxic media which sustains it. How ambitious is that, even if she's right?

Thankfully thousands are presumably about to hear this live so with a bit of luck it may gain her that commercial traction which she needs to break through to the next level: I think she'll do it. The fact that it seems YNES is incapable of writing a song which isn't catchy in that compelling pop-punk way also helps. That she works with John Rivers at Woodbine Street Studio, a man who has produced Buzzcocks, Swell Maps & The Shapes must also play a part.

There is a rare confidence in how YNES struts through her songs & that's part of the attraction: however sleazy the subjects are, she isn't going to be dirtied by contact with them nor discouraged by their come backs to her: YNES is on the high moral ground & knows it.

There isn't anyone in this single who doesn't deserve being taken publicly to task & if too many of them are pretty thick skinned (and thick in other ways too) then her barbs are sharp enough to pierce.

One final thought on how YNES achieves the sense of authenticity in her work: though we know she works hard on crafting her lyrics, most sound on delivery like she has just thought of what she wants to say & so it comes across like you are eavesdropping on a genuine conversation: and that's a most intriguing skill.

This moment might just big the Big One for her.