As the excitement builds for the release of their debut album ‘Midnight Minuet’ later this month, alt rock band The Yagas have released the official music video for their newest single “Life Of A Widow.” The cinematic visual, directed by Sam Reiss, vividly captures the essence of the track, which is an explosive yet luminous portrait of anticipatory grief hailed as “a darkly alluring slab of alt. rock with gothic overtures” by Metal Hammer.
Fronted by Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Vera Farmiga, the New York-based independent quintet – also featuring Renn Hawkey (keys), Jason Bowman (drums), Mark Visconti (guitar) and Mike Davis (bass) – will release their debut full-length album, Midnight Minuet, produced by Hawkey (formerly of famed alt-metal band Deadsy), on Friday, April 25th. The 10-song collection also includes previously released singles “The Crying Room” and “She’s Walking Down.” PRESS HERE to pre-save Midnight Minuet on DSPs.
“The ‘Life Of A Widow’ video is about merciless mourning, living with your soul outstretched for someone who is no longer there,” shares Farmiga. “It embodies the concept of resistance – the push and pull purgatory of oppressive grief telling you it’s over, when your heart tells you it’s not. Grief that tries to shrink your love to the past when your heart is screaming it is present. The only thing that keeps you going in grief is breathing in and out. The song and video express the longing to have a loved one back. If only tears and music could bridge us to the afterlife…”
The Yagas, who made their live debut in March, performed an explosive set at the famed Bowery Ballroom in New York City on April 5th, where they were joined onstage by Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hütz, following an introduction by acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber, to perform their rendition of the popular Ukrainian love song “Chervona Ruta.” The Yagas and Gogol Bordello recently released a special live performance video of the beloved Ukrainian anthem to raise money for Support Action Ukraine – PRESS HERE to watch and donate.
On Midnight Minuet, The Yagas adorn even the darkest moments with unexpected bursts of ineffable beauty, as evidenced by the album’s opener and the band’s debut single “The Crying Room.” Paired with a darkly enchanting video co-starring Hütz, the primally cathartic track was partly inspired by the horrors endured by Farmiga’s extended family since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. PRESS HERE to watch the official music video for “The Crying Room.” Follow-up single “She’s Walking Down” fully immerses the listener in a brutal but exhilarating tale of violence and vengeance. The track’s hauntingly beautiful music video – directed by Farmiga, marking the first piece of art she’s directed in 15 years – depicts a dark dream that Farmiga repeatedly had about her young daughter in peril. PRESS HERE to watch the video for “She’s Walking Down.” Since debuting last fall, The Yagas have amassed over 3 million collective streams and views.
Formed in 2023, The Yagas took shape after its five members met at Rock Academy (a Woodstock-based music school run by Bowman) and began playing together in the school’s adult program, discovering an undeniable musical chemistry. An audacious band with otherworldly origins, The Yagas borrowed their name from the mystical Slavic folklore figure Baba Yaga, believed to devour the souls of the newly deceased to safeguard the fountains of life. The quintet wholly shares 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. The Yagas music has received early comparisons to A Perfect Circle, The Cure, and Type O Negative with praise and support from Revolver Magazine, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock Magazine, NME, The Rockpit, The Noise/Ones To Watch, Stereogum, Blabbermouth, Bloody Disgusting, Rock Cellar Magazine, and more.
