Just seven months after releasing their Truth or Consequences album, Yumi Zouma bring us another release of reworked versions of the songs...

As I mentioned in my original review of Truth or Consequences, "There's nothing here that grabs you and makes you want to relisten to it." So I was surprised to see that the pop quartet from New Zealand had decided to release an "Alternate Version" of the original album. You could be forgiven for thinking that this was a little self indulgent for a band if it they were a band on everyone's playlist... but as an outfit that's hardly topping the charts it just feels odd... a little lazy, even.

The press release sees the band explaining that when you have a new album and go on tour with it, this is when you start to really get to know the songs. It's here, in front of an audience, that you realise that certain elements aren't working as well as you'd thought and a little reworking helps to tweak the songs into something much better - or at least better received by the crowd. However, as their Truth or Consequences tour only had one date (the Covid pandemic stopped the tour after the first show) I fail to see how the audience reaction to the songs winded up being a contributing factor to this reworking of songs.

You could also be forgiven for cynically believing that these were mixes left on the cutting room floor when the original album was being put together.

I honestly didn't see much improvement here. The songs are basically the same in structure, If you really loved the original album then I suppose these reworked tracks will hold some interest.

6

Nick Smithson