Hip-Hop: Yankee - Dry Your Eyes for When Tomorrow Comes (2016)

69 / 100

A pleasant but uneven lo-fi/hip-hop hybrid that offers glimpses of atmosphere and charm, yet feels like a fleeting project.

Yankee only notes being based in Anaheim, California, with their Bandcamp linking to an empty SoundCloud page, and even their genre tags feel off—except perhaps experimental. Even then, the term doesn’t fully capture their sound, as hip-hop-style drums are a key element. Dry Your Eyes for When Tomorrow Comes remains their sole album, released on March 12, 2016, with ten tracks running a total of 38 minutes. It is available as a free download.

From the outset, Yankee delivers instrumental hip-hop with several notable tracks. “Wall Flower” has a lo-fi retro charm, while “Devil’s Butoukai” stands out with its darker piano tones. Two others lean toward the atmospheric side, though not fully trip hop: the retro ambience of “2nd Street” and “Forever Mine,” the latter particularly rewarding in the stillness of midnight, becoming a contemplative highlight.

Four songs skip drums altogether, offering more minimal textures. These include the lo-fi piano piece “For Now,” the synth-and-birdsong combination of “Outsider,” and the sparse acoustic guitar atmosphere of “Swaying.” Closing the album is an Aphex Twin cover, “Jynweythek Ylow,” slowed down with steel-string guitar. While its tempo shift brings more melancholy compared to the original, the execution feels less compelling.

In the end, this modest project’s lone release caters well to fans of instrumental hip-hop, lo-fi hip-hop, or trip hop, before Yankee disappeared without a trace.

Best tracks: For Now, Devil’s Butoukai, Forever Mine.

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