Prepare The Pound Cakes

Yob are the unrivaled kings of Cosmic Doom. Their heavy riffs feel like they're mashing you into the earth, yet their lyrics challenge perceptions of reality, and shift your attention outwards, towards the greater whole of the universe. It's a formula few can pull off with any success.

The title of Yob’s latest record, Atma, is a reference to the Buddhist concept of the higher self, being connected to everything all at once.

I am pretty far from that level of consciousness. I spent my formative years as an angry, working class, punk, focusing most of my energy on stickin' it to "the man." But now that I'm a little bit more grown-up (and just slightly less angry on the inside), I find Yob's music and concept as a band, to be really fascinating. Heavy yet uplifting is a combo I fully back. Seeing beyond what is directly in front of you, is good for your soul.
But to be clear, I'm not a hippie. I shave my pits.

"Yob" is Russian slang for "Fuck," but in New Zealand, it's a term that refers to "a person who engages in antisocial behavior and/or drunkenness." 

I guess both definitions can apply directly to the band. When I hear their crushingly heavy music, I'm often like "FUUUUUUCCCK!!" At the time I'm either being anti-social and listening to my headphones, or sometimes a little tipsy at one of their shows. It all fits, really.

The Unreal Never Lived is another one of my favorite Yob records. It's a little bit more trippy and psychedelic than Atma, and I highly recommend you add it to your record collection.

This recipe is for pound cake cupcakes. As a reference to the colors Stevie Floyd used when she painted the cover for Atma, I've topped them with blueberry orange frosting.

Here's some Yob for your Gob:

Yob: Prepare The Pound Cakes

Makes 18

 Metal Constituents:

• 3 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 3/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 Tablespoon Orange Zest

For the frosting:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup pureed blueberries
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

 Merciless Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with baking cups, and set aside.
2. In a large measuring cup with a spout, whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside.
3. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
4. Mix on low speed until well blended. 
5. Add butter and half of the milk mixture. Continue mixing until moistened. 
6. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 minute.
7. Add half of the remaining milk mixture, and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. 
8. Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining milk mixture and orange zest. Beat again on medium speed for 30 seconds.
9. Fill baking cups about 2/3 full.
10. Bake for 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one cupcake comes out clean.
11. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 
12. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
13. Add blueberry puree, vanilla, orange zest and salt. Beat until smooth.
14. Add powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time, and continue beating until light and fluffy.
15. Frost completely cooled cakes.
16. Prepare the pound cakes. Ugh!

Here is some live footage of Yob playing "Prepare The Ground" at Subterranean here in Chicago.
Fun facts: I was actually at this show! My friend Jon from The Inarguable shot this footage. Rob from Dark Castle played drums with Yob on this tour, and that's Stevie and Sanford Parker sitting on the stairs back there.
Enjoy!