Indie Music Album Reviews

YUDI - I Like What I Like

2/7/2025

YUDI

I Like What I Like
self-released; 2024

TOP ALBUM

By Matt Jensen

YUDI, the Salt Lake City-based indie dream-folk outfit, crafts music that feels both spectral and deeply human. Fronted by their eponymous singer-songwriter, the band leans into lush, melancholic soundscapes, blending folk-rooted intimacy with the weightlessness of dream pop. Their debut EP entitled I Like What I Like is an incredible introduction to their sound.

Opener “Cam” wastes no time setting the tone, weaving together Latin flourishes, spaghetti western tension, and rock-inflected grandeur. Classical guitar runs glide over a steady, rumbling bassline, while YUDI’s vocals carry a quiet intensity reminiscent of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval. The track feels dusky, mysterious, like wandering through a desert at twilight.

“Moon Eyes” begins with delicate fingerpicking and breathy vocals, gradually ascending into something massive. The groove is both airy and propulsive, lifting the song into near-orchestral heights. The lyrics—“Moon-Eyed People, part of our lore. A wonder we still seek to explore…”—lend a mystical quality, reinforcing the band’s ability to craft soundscapes that feel mythic yet deeply personal.

“Tumbleweed” follows, its cascading strings and deft guitar work adding a shimmer of magic. Even as the arrangement sways and drifts, a steady groove anchors it, keeping the song from floating away entirely. The titular track “I Like What I Like” leans further into atmosphere, but it’s the drumming that keeps everything dynamic, giving the track a subtle urgency beneath the reverb-drenched airiness.

“Ships” shifts the energy, favoring raw emotion over scale. It plays like a ballad meant to be sung into the void—intimate yet grand in scope. But the EP’s most affecting moment might be “Sunflower Garden.” Nostalgic and aching, it’s a song that feels like a long-lost memory resurfacing, carrying all the weight of time and distance.

As far as debuts go, this is a triumph. YUDI arrives fully formed, crafting music that is wistful yet urgent, intimate yet vast. Whatever comes next, they’ve already made a statement worth returning to. Highly Recommended!