Yungcarebare – “Kingpin” from the EP “Quarantined”

Yungcarebare recorded the entire EP “Quarantined” with an acoustic guitar, USB microphone, and drum backing tracks he found online while in lockdown in his apartment during the COVID-19 outbreak. Under the name iNT3L, he has previously collaborated with Grammy award winning artist Christian Mochizuki (also known as Graves) and they had their song DJed all over the world by RL Grime, Tropkillaz, BOYSNOIZE, and more. Built on a grinding grunge template, many of these songs can go from sounding as melodic as classic rock to as hard hitting as hardcore punk.

Yungcarebare is capable of moving from loud and aggressive to smooth and mellifluous within a space of a bar. It’s an amalgamation that demands a fuller, more dynamic sound, something that the artist accomplishes on the stunning “The Rose”.

It starts on an acoustic note and then everything surges forward from there, cranking up the intensity and the fury from mid-song onward. Not giving you a moment’s respite ‘Beat It Up’ has a more complex rhythm but rocks pretty damn hard. As dynamic as its title, the song flares with a vengeance.

Yungcarebare’s guitars are at their most tortured, pushed, and tangled on “Kingpin”. His vocal lead comes on strong as well, and establishes him as a serious minded rocker. The song evolves into a pounded rhythm and scraped guitars with the drum programming coming through impressively. The melody picks up and the chorus soars.

Whatever Yungcarebare’s inspiration to record this, it stands out starkly and memorably from the fray. They just don’t make records this raw and immediate anymore. Not in the rock genre at least. Yungcarebare simply rewrote the rule-book, welding segments of grunge with straightforward rock n roll tuneage, not to mention lyrics that cut straight to the core.

The “Quarantined” EP epitomizes the mid-point on the axis where lo-fi sensibilities and stadium possibilities meet up in the privacy of a room somewhere in Los Angeles. This sounds like Yungcarebare’s ode to making something happen rather than waiting for someone else to do it, but it should also be a cornerstone for any budding artists still aspiring to be in a rock band. You can do it from anywhere, and under any circumstances. And if you’re talented enough, you can even do it alone.

Now let’s go back to the beginning. The EP opens with the urgent sound of “Okay”, and when the realization of just what an astonishing piece of work this record is, kicks in. Song for song, “Quarantined” is a strong home recording, with no real moments of weakness, which is astounding, considering the equipment, I imagine Yungcarebare had at his disposal.

He even had time to throw down some layered kick-ass harmonies on “Throw It Away” and “Mickey”. Everything comes together beautifully on the softer acoustic pluck of “Wasted”, before the three aforementioned standout tracks ,“The Rose”, “Beat It Up” and “Kingpin”, come in to close the recording.

This is the lost sound of a genre that could once could turn a misfit into a rock star. Those days may have long gone, but Yungcarebare reminds us that the raw and visceral vibe of that music is very much alive, even though it has to be “Quarantined”…for now!