YELLOW DAYS // GLASGOW GARAGE, GLASGOW
19 year old George Van Den Broek AKA… ‘Yellow Days’ seamlessly plays through a set that shows maturity beyond his years
YELLOW DAYS PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S GARAGE - 26.10.2018
PICTURE BY: FINDLAY MACDONALD PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆ [4.5/5]
Upon hearing George Van Den Broek's voice for the first time it is hard to believe he is just 19 years old. With raspy croons and skilful compositions, it's as if he's an jazz singer trapped inside a young man's body. Van Den Broek plays under the stage name Yellow Days, which is a reference to his synesthesia - the ability to associate colours with music. Tonight he takes his unique sound to Glasgow's Garage.
Welcomed by screams on stage, it is incredible to see such a young man amass a following that has seen almost all of his UK shows with full rooms. The hazy riff of recent single The Way Things Change fills the room before Van Den Broek writhes over the dreamy guitars and synths with lyrics "And I cry and you cry 'cos we don't like the way things change".
His lyrics have perennially dealt with the stigma of mental health over the course of his short career. He painfully sings about anxiety, depression and heartbreak whilst sounding like a mix of Tom Waits, Ray Charles and Mac DeMarco all in one.
So Terrified of Your Own Mind is emotionally draining, as his painful lyrics about a mentally ill friend pour out over his bright blue Vox guitar. The rest of the set sees the beautiful Your Hand Holding Mine - the song that first attracted me to Yellow days - and the uplifting sounding Gap in the Clouds with wonderful opening lyrics "Oooh, all this time I was just running around / A beautiful mind between those eyes" thrashing over the relaxed synth.
How Can I Love You is his most recent single and stands out, the jazzy piano blends with his voice wonderfully. Only being a month old, it was just as enjoyable hearing the song as it was observing how many fans had learnt the lyrics already. Unsurprisingly, Nothing's Going to Keep Me Down is a highlight. There is no other track where his gravelly voice is better suited. The woozy electric organ, weathered and powerful vocals and deeply emotional words makes the live performance of this track unforgettable.
To my surprise, he closes with opening song from his Is Everything Okay In Your World album A Bag of Dutch. A slightly more playful song of the album, presumably about picking up a bag of weed to go and smoke with a person who's eyes he 'can't wait' to see, this closes the show perfectly.
I bump into him after the show and it seems he is enjoying a little bit of the same dutch he was singing about. Completely genuine and grateful, he is not just a fantastic young musician but an utterly likeable one too. Watching his rise in the music industry will be as enjoyable as it will be quick.
SETLIST: | YELLOW DAYS : GLASGOW GARAGE, GLASGOW - 26.10.2018
The Way Things Change
A Little While
Hurt in Love
That Easy
Holding On
So Terrified Of Your Own Mind
Your Hand Holding Mine
What’s It All For
Gap In The Clouds
The Tree I Climb
How Can I Love You
Nothing’s Going to Keep Me Down
People
A Bag of Dutch