YONAKA

English quartet Yonaka channels heavy riffs, melodic hooks, and onstage punk intensity as the untamed offspring of predecessors like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and PVRIS. Led by the fiery Theresa Jarvis, the outfit entered the scene during the 2010s via their opening EP Heavy, then delivered their first album, Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow, in 2019. Shifting toward greater melodic emphasis, they dropped the mixtape Seize the Power in 2021 and issued their second LP Give Me My Halo in 2023.

Hailing from Brighton, the lineup—vocalist Jarvis, guitarist George Edwards, bassist Alex Crosby, and drummer Robert Mason—first crossed paths at college while each performed in separate ensembles. Forming in 2014, they swiftly built a U.K. following through powerful live performances. Their initial single, "Ignorance," surfaced in 2016 alongside "Drongo," with "Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya" arriving the next year ahead of the Heavy EP and its track "Bubblegum." In 2019 Yonaka joined Fueled by Ramen to release Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow, which spotlighted the singles "Bad Company" and "Creature"; buoyed by European praise, the album climbed into the Top 40, after which the band collaborated with Bring Me the Horizon on "Tapes."

They followed with the brief Yonaka Stripped EP in 2020, then launched a fresh cycle in 2021 through the tracks "Seize the Power" and "Ordinary," both included on that year's mixtape Seize the Power. The project leaned further into melodic pop and electronic textures while hosting Fever 333 on "Clique" and Barns Courtney on "Anthem." Jarvis joined esports outfit G2 and Jeris Johnson for "Detonate" in 2023, coinciding with the band's release of "Panic" and "Welcome to My House" as singles from the full-length Give Me My Halo.