Pool Of Sound - Yee Loi

 

The future of punk is in the hands of two Wirral teenage girls, Rose and Matilda who, along with their little brother Donnie on bass, form 'Yee Loi' (which means "two girls" in Cantonese), making them the most exciting three-piece band in punk today. At the ages of 10 and 8, the two girls started playing songs by 'The Ramones' and others in their barn and posting videos on YouTube. Between school and homework, the girls had stumbled upon their dad’s record collection and discovered a whole new world they never knew existed. Hearing 'The Stray Cats', Johnny Thunders, and their favorite, 'The Ramones', changed everything. From that moment on, they dropped their pens and picked up guitars and drumsticks. Matilda took on the dual role of drummer and vocalist, while Rose, obsessed with rockabilly, developed a guitar style far beyond her years. This led to them meeting and becoming friends with the existing Ramones family, and they were encouraged to take their music further. With complete disregard to the current popular music trends of their peer group, they forged ahead with their punk rock and classic rock influences. Inspired by punk's DIY attitude, they started composing their own songs and self releasing their music.

Rose on guitar/backing vocals and Matilda on drums/vocals are half Chinese/Vietnamese and they seem to be getting plenty of comparisons with another band on a meteoric rise, 'The Linda Lindas'. 

Their early releases included covers of classics by bands like 'The Ramones', Johnny Thunders, 'The Stooges', etc and they are very good. Even better is the proof that they're not just a covers band offered up by their original compositions. There debut album 'No One Eats For Free' contained 8 of their own songs and tracks like 'Be Like Johnny' and 'ZWT' suggested that these talented sisters could one day be selling out stadiums like their heroes. After numerous mentions on social media, such as "Thanks to our little brother Don Don for helping us out playing bass", eventually they announced that their brother Donnie had officially joined them as bass player.

 

This is just the beginning of 'Yee Loi'’s story, as these Merseyside teenagers set out to rip up the rulebook of Britain’s punk scene. The EP, 'Make Some Noise' is a glorious mix of rock, punk rock and cowpunk as seen through the eyes of 'Yee Loi'. Produced by Chris Taylor in Kempston Street Studios and Mastered by Graeme Lynch (Two Zero Nine). They chose to cover Mystery Train because of their love for the Elvis Sun session recordings. But Elvis NEVER sounded like this..... this is the sound of 'Yee Loi'. Their 'Almost Angels' EP sees them carving out their space in the world of rock and roll, with a mix of punk, classic rock and a splash of rockabilly also produced by Chris Taylor and Mastered by Graeme Lynch.

 

 

Bring The Noise, the UK based website covering all genres of music, were at the Arts Club Loft for Liverpool's Sound City Festival in May 2024. They reviewed what they saw;- "Up until now 'The Lottery Winners' and 'Red Rum Club' were the highlights of the weekend but a quick run over to the Arts Club Loft changed all that as we arrived just in time for Wirral trio 'Yee Loi' who blew the roof off the venue with their DIY punk. 'Yee Loi' are sisters Rose and Matilda and amazingly this was their first ever gig! This band have everything and is post modern punk at its finest: A drummer that sings, thrashing guitars and bass, what more could we possibly need for a Sunday afternoon? The few hundred that were in the room knew they were watching a very unique performance as the band played tracks from their EP 'Make Some Noise'. Unbelievably these sisters were signed up to Modern Sky UK at the ages of 15 and 13, which makes you wonder how far they can go if marketed properly, maybe the UK’s answer to 'The Warning'."

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2025/06/pool-of-sound-sunda-blue.html