Alt rockers, The Yagas, fronted by Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Vera Farmiga, have just dropped their latest single “She’s Walking Down.” It comes along with an official music video, directed by Farmiga, the first piece of art directed the vocalist in 15 years. Check it out below and read more from the band.
Stream “She’s Walking Down” here: https://vyd.co/ShesWalkingDown
On “She’s Walking Down,” the New York-based independent quintet make brilliant use of vocoder-enhanced vocals, pummeling guitar riffs, and viscerally chilling effects to fully immerse the listener in a brutal but exhilarating tale of violence and vengeance. It’s a symbolic ending to a dark dream that Farmiga kept having about her young daughter in peril. According to Vera, “I’d been reading a lot about child trafficking, which eventually entered my dreamscape. As a way to work out my fear, I decided to write a song where the protagonist from those nightmares turns the tables on her abuser and finally puts an end to everything.” The track’s music video depicts a story of escape, self-defense, despair, telepathy, empathy, and the many things that cause a parent’s biggest fears.
The Yagas introduced their elaborate sonic world in October with their powerful single “The Crying Room.” The song sets Farmiga’s beguiling vocals against a backdrop of serpentine guitar riffs, moody synth lines, and tempestuous rhythms supplied by drummer Jason Bowman and bassist Mike Davis. Paired with a darkly enchanting video co-starring Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz (also of Ukrainian descent), the primally cathartic track was partly inspired by the horrors endured by Farmiga’s extended family since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It has already amassed over 1 million views. The track has also earned over 1 million streams on Spotify. Watch the official music video for “The Crying Room” here: https://youtu.be/UQ4mh3uNw48
An audacious new band with otherworldly origins, The Yagas borrowed their name from a mystical being who’s long haunted the dreams of their frontwoman: a Slavic folklore figure known as Baba Yaga, believed to devour the souls of the newly deceased and safeguard the fountains of the waters of life. The emerging five-piece wholly share their namesake’s storied penchant for shapeshifting, morphing from metal to industrial to wildly extravagant alt-rock as their songs journey into the strangest depths of the human psyche. As shown on “The Crying Room” and “She’s Walking Down,” both featured tracks off their debut album (coming soon), The Yagas embody a potent duality of shadow and light, ferocity and tenderness.
Formed in 2023, The Yagas took shape soon after Farmiga and keyboardist Renn Hawkey (Deadsy) enrolled their son and daughter at Rock Academy (a Woodstock-based music school run by Bowman and also attended by Mark Visconti (guitar) and Davis’ children). After playing together in the school’s adult program and discovering an undeniable musical chemistry, the five parents began collaborating on original material. Not only an echo of their music’s emotional complexity, The Yagas’ similarly wondrous multidimensionality has much to do with Farmiga and Hawkey’s divergent musical backgrounds. When matched with the restlessly inventive yet highly sophisticated musicality of Visconti, Davis, and Bowman – all lifelong musicians with decades of experience and an affinity for genre-bending experimentation – the result is a truly singular aural experience, endlessly unpredictable but infinitely propelled by the spellbinding force of Farmiga’s vocal work. The Yagas, who will release their debut full-length album – produced by Hawkey, mixed by GRAMMY® nominee Brian Virtue (Deftones, 30 Seconds to Mars), and mastered by GRAMMY® winner Emily Lazar (Beck, Coldplay) – in early 2025, have already received comparisons to A Perfect Circle, The Cure, and Type O Negative.
Lineup:
Vera Farmiga – Vocals
Renn Hawkey – Keys
Jason Bowman – Drums
Mark Visconti – Guitar
Mike Davis – Bass
Follow The Yagas:
https://www.instagram.com/theyagas/
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BGfgw4Tfb/
https://youtube.com/@theyagasband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ryRF1xeUbHB9FXczC2uBg
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-yagas/1748833461