{"id":271632,"date":"2026-03-01T10:39:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/?post_type=reviews&p=271632"},"modified":"2026-03-01T10:39:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:39:07","slug":"album-review-no-love-lost-to-kindness","status":"publish","type":"reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/reviews\/album-review-no-love-lost-to-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: No Love Lost To Kindness"},"author":33,"featured_media":271633,"template":"","review-type":[11],"class_list":["post-271632","reviews","type-reviews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","review-type-release"],"meta_box":{"review":"

Lush and ferocious, bigger and bolder, Yumi Zouma return with their first full length effort in four years. No Love Lost To Kindness<\/em> is a self-proclaimed shedding of the skin that remains in touch with the identity of one of Aotearoa\u2019s most prominent international acts, but ushers in a new energetic, eclectic, attitude.<\/p>\n

With Cross My Heart and Hope To Die<\/em>, it\u2019s immediately obvious that this project will set itself apart from the rest of the \u014ctautahi quartet\u2019s discography. The production is crisp, sparse, and hugs you in its dreamy and driving instrumentation. Bashville On The Sugar<\/em> takes it even further with a fast-paced pop-punk piece carried expertly by Olivia Campion\u2019s drums. Edgy bass and guitars complement the combination of voices within the band, with each vocal part distinct in these two tracks almost to serve as a reminder of the connection through distance that started this band.<\/p>\n

Having now been an established project for over a decade, it would be natural enough to desire a change in direction. Christie Simpson's vocals take on a much more eerie quality over the course of the album that serves the contrasting instrumentation to create a well-layered collection of songs. As evident in Drag<\/em>, a self-described grapple with neurodivergence, the sonic space that's thematically filled by the group's effects-heavy instruments and vocals amplifies the force of the project to the point of forgetting they're a quartet. Simpson's low, almost monotone verse lines create a striking variance to the colourful, often explosive and groovy choruses. This structure is somewhat reversed in the swirling and chiming Cowboy Without A Clue<\/em>. The character of the album's vocals is consistent in an almost underwater tone that wraps each song in a warm texture.<\/p>\n

The transition and fusion to this new creative direction is perhaps most prominent in Blister<\/em> and Phoebe's Song<\/em>, with the former maintaining the upbeat energy of the album thus far with a lively intro, distinctive and immediately memorable riff. It sounds like it's easily the most fun the group are having on the album. Loud, explosive, and carefree. Both tracks, a couple of the record's lead singles, are a knockout that deliver on the implied promise (and demand) for a vibrant, hum-under-your-breath chorus, hammering home the band's knack for catchy melodies. The anticipation that builds to these crescendos is a statement of what makes these tracks so accessible, and sometimes predictable, which there really isn't anything wrong with, and it's, perhaps to a point, necessary for maximum impact.<\/p>\n

The group shows that No Love Lost To Kindness<\/em> is not without its twists and turns too. Reveling in the freedom of their self-production, it's obvious they are stretching their legs and inserting themselves fully into this project. With the smooth, rainy swing of Chicago 2am<\/em> that teases and dunks us underwater, and Every False Embrace<\/em> sheltering our heart in a parcel of electronic lines, it seems that the new pathways opening ahead have encouraged fresh ideas and sounds that mingle well with the established.<\/p>\n

With the driving 2000's indie-rock sound of Judgement Day<\/em> throwing me back to walks to school with The Naked and Famous blaring, the album returns to a peak where the sound is simply massive. Fuzzed-out guitars and saturated synth lines hulking under mammoth vocals that phase in and out of their own distortion, work together to create a sort of tunnel-vision amongst the chaos.<\/p>\n

For whatever reason, it seems I've been sleeping on Yumi Zouma. Working in the background for me, however quietly, they've scarcely flown past my radar, at least not consciously. I am always grateful for the discoveries and deep-dives that reviewing releases affords me, more often than not allowing me onto a usually long-running hype train. Sometimes there is an \"oh, I get it\" moment, which is almost to let me in on a not-so-well-kept secret, or solving a mystery surrounding the anticipation for a release from a specific artist. As such, you can imagine my surprise to find Yumi Zouma with 1.2 million Spotify listeners this month; no simple feat for most kiwi music. Perhaps it is the fresh introduction and lack of context that leads me to labelling Did You See Her?<\/em>\u00a0as my personal highlight of the album. A song which I'm told is decidedly \"un-Yumi\", yet unquestionably entrancing as the albums slowest song that blooms in the space it creates the most. Through the tracks themes of disregard and self-reflection, it's angelic, yet tragic. Verdant, but vicious. A building swell of guitars, synths, and echoing vocal melodies brings the insider\/outsider perspective to life.<\/p>\n

95<\/em> is a soft, lo-fi display of impressive vocals and yet another distinctive, impactful melody that tickles the ears. It's poignant and relatable in its yearning for home and a simpler moment in time. The homesick track became the final of a whopping six singles to be released from this 12 track album, a method of release that would no doubt offer some acclimation to the new sounds for dedicated fans.<\/p>\n

Genuinely stumped for how this album will end, the theme of inevitable breakdown on Waiting For The Cards To Fall<\/em> serves as a melancholic finale that swirls and hypnotizes. Kind of a bad trip in the wrong headspace, not gonna lie. Awash in reverb, aggressive ride-hits, volume swells, and lyrics like \"Something wasn't right with us \/ I'm leaving you no matter what\" creates a setting of gloom and hopelessness to something you can't bring yourself to leave yet. The song leaves space for a rising crescendo that it doesn't quite unleash; perhaps somewhat in line with the theme. An unconventional end to the album, but perhaps that's the most predictable thing about an unpredictable effort.<\/p>\n

It is worth mentioning that this change in direction has not led to any major additions to what we could expect from the lineup. Regardless of the production, the album still feels as though it consists of four musicians, is not over-complicated or crowded with too many ideas, and as such should translate well live, which I am extremely excited to report back on in a couple of weeks' time in Glasgow. No Love Lost To Kindness<\/em> is an energetic and unexpected trip back to the airwaves for a band that insists on scattering themselves across the globe, and coming together with the intention to make something entirely of their own will and in their own time. Each track is a distinctive, infectious tune that carries the influence, skills, experiences, and afflictions of four individuals separated by distance in geography only.<\/p>\n","review_type":{"term_id":11,"name":"Release","slug":"release","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":11,"taxonomy":"review-type","description":"","parent":0,"count":4554,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},"linked_artist":["41677"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/271632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reviews"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/271632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271634,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/271632\/revisions\/271634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"review-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review-type?post=271632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}