Album Review: Yelka - In a Rose Hat

A strikingly different take on contemporary America—YELKA’s In A Rose Hat offers an artistic perspective far removed from stadium rock or trap trends. It’s an intimate, almost cinematic interpretation that upends expectations. “Crawl into your hibernation, don’t wait for a new sensation…” the opening, ´Colors Will Come´— begins the new album of the Berlin post-rock trio YELKA like a warm ballad. Echoes of long-lost underground bars haunt the record, with traces of Lou Reed, Television, and Suicide lingering in its electronic blues-infused sound. Much like the countercultural icons of the ’70s and ’80s, YELKA presents its own vision of America.

The album’s title and cover art are integral to its concept, shaped during recording sessions at Arne Bergner’s Popschutz Studio in Berlin. YELKA’s approach is spontaneous—songs emerge in just a few takes, free from the burden of excessive layering or overproduction. Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Meteo, drummer Christian Obermaier, and bassist/vocalist Yelka Wehmeier work with the immediacy of a jazz ensemble, crafting tracks in a raw, workshop-like process.

The album’s central visual—a stern-faced elderly woman—draws inspiration from a Diane Arbus portrait housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York. Artist Henrike Wissing reimagined it in stark black-and-white lines, like her previous work for YELKA’s For, where she transformed Mount Rushmore into a surrealist vision. The spirit—and ghosts—of America have become an ongoing fascination for the band, making a trilogy on the theme seem inevitable.

This time, YELKA delivers eight tracks—instrumentals and songs where Wehmeier’s eerily calm vocals stand at the center. ´Teddy´, for instance, takes the listener on an escapist journey to Honolulu: “I fear the ghosts, from coast to coast / In Honolulu, they lost their ground and drown in sound.” Dreamlike pop textures and ambient layers shape the album’s ethereal atmosphere.

America, here, is a feeling—resonant and unpredictable, stretched between extremes. ´Tired of Planting´ delves into experimental territory with Meteo’s spoken word and layers of sound, while ´Bermuda´ evokes the haunting, surreal mood of a David Lynch film. Ever unpredictable, YELKA steps further outside the lines with ´Der sechste Planet and ´Insel der dritten Jugend´, two German-titled tracks that break entirely from the album’s mold. “Planet” in particular is a meditative guitar piece, “Insel” is a beautifully hazy instrumental that hints at the band’s evolving transatlantic sound.

In A Rose Hat marks the fifth chapter in YELKA’s ambitious 10-album project, announced in 2021.

Verdict: A gorgeous post/alternative rock album that is the perfect antidote to a world of troubles, a delicate selection of stripped down compositions, laced with calm, poignant vocals that gently caress the soul. A wonderfully orchestrated move was to have the second side of the release as instrumentals (aside from the last track having non-lexical vocals), As the listener, its almost like a lament, a time to reflect on whats been said and let the continuing musics melancholy wash over you. The perfect companion piece for those late evenings of quiet contemplation.