Yarostan – Self-Titled
Passionate political post-hardcore inspired by Fredy Perlman's "Letters of Insurgents"
Here’s another fascinating post‑rock‑laden screamo release from France. Yarostan is a four‑piece from La Fare‑les‑Oliviers and Marseille. They offer excellent dual vocals and dynamic interplay between sweeping soundscapes and emotional build‑ups. Epic and intense, this could be your next great discovery in the lineage of bands like Daïtro, Sed Non Satiata, Mihai Edrisch, and Aussitôt Mort.
The name Yarostan comes from the epistolary novel Letters of Insurgents (1976), written collectively by Fredy and Lorraine Perlman. In this beautiful and revolutionary work, Yarostan Vochek and Sophia Nachalo—one‑time lovers in an unnamed Eastern Bloc country—eventually find themselves on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. Sharing anarchist ideals and lives in revolt, they begin corresponding in pursuit of an insurgent path to liberation. Yarostan’s French‑language lyrics draw on Perlman and other 20th‑century to contemporary anti‑authoritarian thinkers, creating a passionate, diverse, and dynamic post‑hardcore record with a deeply meaningful message.
Its five expansive tracks build, release, and erupt in a dazzling blend of serene melody and chaos—everything this genre does best. Balancing tenderness and ferocity, the band glide from delicate, reverb‑washed guitar passages into towering crescendos that detonate with pure distortion. The vocal interplay mirrors this contrast: harsh, throat‑ripped screams melt into clean, plaintive lines that let the French lyrics breathe before the next onslaught. The second track, “Nous contre nous,” distills this push‑and‑pull into a concise four minutes. The shortest track on the record and, for me, the most addictive and favorite cut of the record.
The CD‑R and cassette editions were self‑released by the band. Another tape version is available from the outstanding Canadian label Zegema Beach Records as part of a 70‑plus‑minute split with fellow French outfit Aleska. Yarostan’s self‑titled LP arrives through a collective of wonderful DIY labels from France and across Europe who continue to keep the flames of love and rage alive.
Here’s a video of “Aversion / Les cors pour assiéger la nuit” performed live in 2018. Although the track originally appeared on their 2016 EP Les ruines de notre temps, it remains another favorite Yarostan song for me.
