University – ‘Yes’ EP review: The noisy Crewe crew are back already
When a band releases a new EP just three months after a new LP, history suggests two leading explanations.
First among them is the old ploy of repackaging the axed tracks from the last album as their own special, separate something. The other option: a desire to take an immediate left turn in the wake of a disappointment—i.e., “I told you we should have kept the eight-minute song about pharaohs on the fucking album! We gotta get it out now!”
I’m not sure either of those scenarios fits the case of University’s Yes EP, however. Out this week and following hot on the heels of the June release of their debut full-length McCartney, It’ll Be OK, this three-track, 23-minute bash-about feels like it was recorded last night; a fresh bottling of some new experiments rather than a sweeping up of McCartney’s cutting room floor. That said, it’s hard to call it a leap forward either. These days, the “rushed follow-up EP” might have more to do with fending off robot doppelgangers on Spotify than adding something vital to your band’s budding canon.
University, for the uninitiated, are an explosive neo-emo noise outfit based out of Crewe in Cheshire. They’re powered by a propulsive machine-gun drum batterer named Joel Smith and the apocalyptic swirling guitars and pleading but cheeky vocal screeches of Zak Bowker. Gut-tingling bass thuds are provided by Ewan Barton. Another dude, band “mascot” Eddie, famously sits on stage and plays video games during their gigs—the 2025 version of a Bez, I suppose.
The ironic detachment in the midst of extreme heaviness, and the band’s penchant for pop cultural references and absurdist humour, is appealing, but maybe in more of a nostalgic way than they’re intending. There is a clear lineage with early 2000s California math rock—Hella and Dilute were apparent touchstones—and a hint of Mogwai in the way University can deftly slide out of their tsunami of sound to find some genuinely lovely and intimate melodic moments. The new track ‘Business Secrets of the Pharaohs’ is a good example of this, and also features a fantastic book-ended vocal by Bowker, who sounds a bit like Conor Oberst getting jabbed with red hot pokers, in a good way.
Compared to the eight-minute ‘Pharoahs’ and 11-minute journey through rock history, ‘Stones ‘n’ Jam’, the EP’s lead track ‘Bee’ is the most digestible new entry. It’s got a bouncy, off-kilter ‘90s vibe, sort of like Built To Spill, but fronted by a kid who’s really happy about chilling with his friends, to the point that he has to scream from a mountaintop about it. It feels authentic, too. These guys seem to love each other, and they’re having a really good time. I suspect seeing them play live would be the best way to join in that lovefest, but there’s nothing unpleasant about giving Yes a listen. It ends just before it gets tiresome.
For Fans Of: Cleaning the garage in one fell swoop rather than piecemeal; getting everything out of there and really going to town.
Other Things to See in Crewe: Lyceum Theatre, Crewe Heritage Centre
Release Date: September 26th, 2025 | Label: Transgressive
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