YATTA – PALM WINE (2024) – Album Review

Album: PALM WINE

Artist: YATTA

Label: INITIATION

Release Date: October 25, 2024

Maybe the world ended in 2024 and we just didn’t know it. I feel like PALM WINE is the evidence of this event. But if I was to believe this record, it wasn’t a cataclysmic event – it was like slipping into a warm bath. YATTA has made spun something truly sensational with this album. It became apparent when the piano and faded vocal chorus of Disappear (Track 3) hit my ears. It’s minimal pop music for the end of the world and I’m here for it.

I think what’s surprising about this album is how personal it feels with the least amount of motion wasted. Every track is bathed in the beautiful and reassuring vocals of YATTA, but all in different ways. Every sound belongs. You’ll know you’ve come full circle once the track Too Good hits. Even though it feels like the end of the world, it’s some how playful? Like going to a fun funeral. YATTA’s voice carries through it all with the weight of someone who already knows the answer but keeps asking the question. It’s personal without confession.

I firmly believe that nostalgia isn’t a yearning for the past or re-living the glory days – I believe nostalgia is mourning a life we never got to live. YATTA is wrapped in nostalgia. We mourn what could have been our vibe all along. It’s that teary eyed laughter of resolution, like realizing the rollercoaster wasn’t so bad after all, and you wished you had one more chance to get back on it and truly experience the highs and lows.

YATTA might not move you as much as me, but I hope it does. Amazing album.