Hull’s finest four-piece LIFE are closing out their album promo run with a banger. My Yan, the final single lifted from their fourth record ‘Abstract / Natural’ which is out now via EMI North and Launchpad+, is exactly the kind of track that makes you want to drop everything and go for a long walk — in the best possible way.
The song pulls from the euphoric indie-rock playbook of the early 2000s while staying unmistakably LIFE. Lydia Palmeira and Stewart Baxter lock in a driving rhythm section from the jump, Mick Sanders threads in some glinting guitar harmonics, and then the whole thing opens up into this gorgeous, breezy meditation on love and freedom. The middle section goes full dreamscape — shimmering guitars and bass lines swimming under waves of delay — before frontman Mez Sanders-Green’s vocals pull everything back together, building to a shoegaze-tinged, arms-wide-open finale.
The title’s got a sweet backstory too. Mez explains:
“This track is a love song. Yan in old Cumbrian means ‘one’ so I’m saying ‘The One’. This is the band’s favourite track from the album. It’s really dynamic, especially the middle-eight with all of its space and dreamlike textures that build to a monumental outro that we hope sounds like a journey towards new beginnings. Here’s a fun fact: shepherds in the Lake District counted sheep by going yan, twee, tree, fower (1,2,3,4). I wrote the lyrics in the lakes.“
That’s the thing about LIFE — the songs always come with a sense of place. Mez, who works as a youth practitioner supporting young people in Hull, has long used long-distance walks and outdoor adventures as his creative fuel. ‘Abstract / Natural’ grew out of a poetry book he kept on those travels, weaving personal stories together with folklore, myth, and the characters he’d conjure from rugged hillside landscapes.
The album was recorded at The Moon Factory — the band’s own studio on the banks of the Humber that they built themselves, now running as a creative hub for emerging Northern artists. It was produced by Stewart Baxter and Oliver Varga, mixed by James Kenosha, and mastered by Stephen Kerrison. BBC 6 Music has been firmly in their corner, with ongoing support from Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens, and Chris Hawkins.
‘Abstract / Natural’ track list
- Wild Grasses
- The Dollywaggon
- Turning In
- Thistles Kiss
- Mermaid Feet
- My Yan
- Drinking Games
- Sun In Nancy
- Buried Giant
- Morning Fog
Live Dates
- Tuesday 23rd June — Brighton, Resident (instore)
- Wednesday 24th June — London, Rough Trade East (instore)
- Thursday 25th June — Liverpool, Jacaranda (instore)
- Friday 26th June — Leeds, Jumbo Records (instore)
- Friday 24th–Sunday 26th July — Deer Shed Festival, North Yorkshire
- Thursday 1st October — Newcastle, The Grove
- Friday 2nd October — Lincoln, Southside
- Saturday 3rd October — Hebden Bridge, Trades Club
- Tuesday 6th October — London, Moth Club
- Wednesday 7th October — Southampton, The Joiners
- Thursday 8th October — Bristol, Strange Brew
- Friday 9th October — Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
- Saturday 28th November — Vilnius, Lithuania, Kablys
‘Abstract / Natural’ is out now via EMI North / Launchpad+.
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