Yuck's Singer Ditched Them But it's Okay: They're Still Really Good

Remember the reality show, Rock Star: INXS, where the surviving members of INXS held a competition to find a replacement for their dead singer Michael Hutchence? Well, London’s Yuck could have tried a similar tactic when they lost their frontman Daniel Blumberg. He’s still alive, he just chose to leave earlier this year to form his own solo project, Hebronix, right when the band were recording their second full-length. Nice timing. Instead, they chose to just promote co-songwriter/guitarist Max Bloom and keep on truckin’.

Well, Yuck survived the difficult transition and finished Glow & Behold, that “difficult” second album that according to Bloom wasn’t as difficult as you’d think. Noisey sent an email to Yuck’s management who relayed it to Bloom to ask what it was like losing their singer/songwriter/guitarist, how their drummer Jonny Rogoff keeps his hair so big and fluffy, and why he won’t go to the toilet without his phone.

Noisey: What kept you from packing it in when Daniel left?
Max Bloom: I guess I felt quite strongly about our new album and I felt like it would be a shame just to throw everything away.

What's the worst part of losing a singer, songwriter, and guitarist? What were the hardest adjustments to make?
It was weird at first not having my friend by my side to share the responsibility. I guess it never felt like we needed to adjust that much.

How did it feel for you to take over the singing and songwriting? Bummed because you had more work to do? Excited because you had more work to do?
I didn't really feel like I was taking over anything, I just sort of carried on what I’d been doing before. It was exciting to be moving forward and making the album that I had been working on for ages.

How long did it take for you to decide that you'd become a singer instead of hiring someone?
Hiring someone else was never really an option that occurred to us. It felt like the right thing for me to sing because the vocals came quite naturally while I was making the music.

Was there a reason why Daniel began singing instead of you when the band started? Your voice is as nice as his, btw. :)
Thanks honey! At that point I think I just wanted to play with Daniel, we were in a band together before where he was the singer, so I just thought I'd focus on playing guitar.

Was there any discussion about how Yuck would sound after Daniel left? Maybe rethink this whole indie sound and go dubstep, perhaps?
We briefly discussed becoming a dubstep band, but we would have been too good and unfair on all the other dubstep bands. Just kidding! We never really spoke about what direction we would go in after Daniel left. I've been making songs for this album since before he left, so the direction we were going in didn't really change after that.

The press release says "The ghosts of other indie giants like Superchunk and Yo La Tengo abound for sure." I think they also missed My Bloody Valentine, especially with "Rebirth." Will you have your label rewrite that to include the ghost of MBV? Also, FYI - none of those bands are dead.
I'm going to fire my record label.

The guys at Fat Possum are really nice, so don’t do that. How did you like recording in a church? Was God on your side? Or was it one of those other churches?
I'm pretty sure God hates me. Just kidding he loves me. He made my guitar licks “super dope.” I didn't feel the presence of God when I was there, but it was a pretty spooky environment for sure. I don't think God would like us recording an album in a place of prayer. Unless God is Jimi Hendrix, in which case he would definitely give us the all clear. The best thing about recording there was probably the acoustics, there was a lot of natural reverb and it sounded really beautiful.

How is playing those songs that Daniel sang? Awkward much?
Ha! It's actually really fun. It sounds quite different in a good way.

Yuck find a new guitarist.

I liked your video for "Yuck find a new guitarist." Approximately how many "pffffts" did you guys have to make?
Nice onomatopoeia by the way! That part didn't actually take that long. The part that took the longest was the part where Jonny slaps Ed at the end. We recorded a lot of Jonny slapping Ed that we didn't use. I imagine that I'll make some sort of art installation out of it one day.

Has anyone told the Doobie Brothers they've been covering a Yuck song all these years? Are your royalty cheques a lot of money?
I actually lost all my Doobie Bros. cash in a few bad investments I made a while back. They're good sports though, great band, great guys.

How did you feel when 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne named their song after you?
I just felt honored. I can't say I was too surprised. I can really hear our influence in Lil Wayne's musique.

Someone tweeted that they watched the One Direction documentary. Who's favourite is Niall? Who's is Harry? Who's is Louis? Who's is the other two guys?
My favourite is Niall. I think we would get on quite well. I think I'd get on with all of them actually, but I'll never know because they haven't responded to my online death threats.

How does Jonny get his so big? Blow drying, right?
All natural baby.

Finally, when I googled the band looking for news, this is the first story I came across: “Yuck - doctor says using mobile phones on toilet is dirty."

How often do you use your mobile on the toilet? And how do you feel about your band name being associated with mobile use on the toilet?
Honestly, I don't go to the toilet without my phone. But it's only because Ed is so fucking good at Words With Friends and there's not enough time in the day to think of words that could beat him.

Cam is on Twitter. Duh - @yasdnilmac