COLLECTED PRESS QUOTES – SLOW PICTURE RELEASE AND TOUR – MARCH / APRIL 2004

THE SONAR YEN

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“ The scream of a guitar signals the first glorious crack of The Sonar Yen. The timing is cinematic….the sheer power of the four piece elevates the whole thing above the tangled, confrontational aspects of life their songs chronicle.

….the sound of the universe being opened up to all possibilities, a stomping frenzy behind a Mark E Smith-style mantra...pulses and contracts with dazzling intensity, as though Ian Curtis handed his diary to . . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead….”

NME page 41 – 10^th April 2004

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“Pure nocturnal sonic adrenaline, crashing in on all sides on a dizzy rush of fear and frenzied apprehension…the kind of fuzzed up storming anthem that will finally mark them out as genuine contenders. A stunning debut “

City Life - 11^th March 2004

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“Littered with sharp little hooks that jab into your spine…Decisions=Regrets thrashes around like a kidnapped Karate Kid before easing into an unexpectedly sun kissed jaunt…an exhilarating musical fix”

Big Issue – 4^th April 2004

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“…like a predator on a natural history programme – patient to begin with, gaining your trust with the jaunty college rock …but as soon as they reel you in, they overpower you with a bruising crescendo - guitars wailing like Carlos Santana guest starring in Sonic Youth, and mangled, strangled vocals like Placebo’s Brian Molko when he finally reaches puberty…. while the success of goody-goody types Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum may have had you believing differently, the devil clearly still has all the best tunes”

manchesteronline.co.uk 17^th March 2004

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“Serious is what the Yen do best... a collection of dark, spiky tunes, weaving punk into something more epic …. from the opening agitation of “Shot In The Dark” to the closing desperate expanse of “The Future”, Slow Picture wears its emotion high on its sleeve..… the discordant passion of “Magic Routine”, the upbeat punch of “Talkin About Bob” and the restrained tantrum of “Through The City” hit home”

bbc.co.uk/Manchester 15^th March 2004

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“An astonishing, compelling and remorseless debut from a band at peak scream. It’s a little sweeping to term it a masterpiece; it’s a little premature to call it the most important Manchester album of the year. That doesn’t stop it being true”

manchestermusic.co.uk 29^th March 2004

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“The Sonar Yen’s contemporised brand of cerebral post-punk has yet to spread far beyond Manchester’s germinating alt-rock scene. … such a relatively low profile seems destined to change, and change quite drastically at that.… the fractious din of Wire, The Sonar Yen flit sporadically between the pulsating, looping guitar assault of Sonic Youth and the brooding atmospherics of local deities The Fall….it’s a startling, vibrant debut thick with innocence and fury and seems destined to be The Sonar Yen’s ticket to national exposure”

LOGO Magazine 29^th March 2004