This new year’s eve countdown may have felt less like “Auld Lang Syne” and more like a ticking time bomb.

How fitting that the latter is the way Les’ December 31st release “Y.A.M.E” kicks off. Created by Simon Wolfe and Vova Faust, Les is a self titled “musical and technological project” based in New York City. Their newest song is an explosive welcome to the new year, and an artful reminder to look inward even if it can be turbulent.

“Y.A.M.E” which stands for “You are made of everything”, harnesses the grunge rock sound of ‘90’s Nirvana with their fuzzy guitar tone, and slow, hair-shaking drum beat. The bass line enhances the groove, as well as fills it in with its own melodic independence. The vocal performance complements their alternative sound, and the versatile tenor reminds me of Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, though Les’ tone is a bit looser and more raw, evoking something like an R&B style.

I like the heaviness of the song; it feels young and tumultuous. I suppose the tumultuousness is what makes it “young”, but it’s really a song about maturity.

Beliefs that we hold can sometimes become who we are, which is why it is so hard to reexamine them. It feels personal because it is. “Y.A.M.E” is about challenging what we thought was true, and how those beliefs manifest into what we look for in life and relationships. Sometimes we don’t get it exactly right, and we have to question what we’re made of.

You are made of everything

Everything you thought you knew is everything that you didn’t choose.

At least that’s what I think it’s about. Maybe the point is the lack of questioning, and the denial to accept a changing relationship when you sense a partner drifting away; perhaps it’s both. Or maybe I’m wrong completely. Good poetry is never too obvious.

It doesn’t matter where you go

It doesn’t matter who you know

You can take a break while I wait

While I wait without you.

The fact that Wolfe and Faust’s new album is a collaborative project kind of makes me feel like, as an audience, we are part of an experiment, or at least a witness to one.

The project Les reflects on our modern madness with both “Y.A.M.E” and their gut wrenchingly relatable, and progressive sounding first single “Broken Government”.

I don’t know what is going to happen next in the context of our world, or what’ll happen next with Les’ exploration of truth, technology, and re-examining oneself and music.

But, to be honest, between those two unknowns, I am far more excited and hopeful to see what Simon Wolfe and Vova Faust create together next.

Listen to Y.A.M.E. below, and follow Les online to see what the future holds.