catharsis

The Artist

Covet is an instrumental rock trio built around guitarist and composer Yvette Young, a classically trained pianist and violinist who brought her conservatory-honed sensibilities to the world of math rock. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the band emerged in the mid-2010s and quickly became a flagship name in the modern instrumental scene, known for Young's two-handed tapping technique and open-tuned melodic runs. Their sound blends the intricate rhythmic play of math rock with the emotional lift of post-rock and the melodic clarity of J-pop and anime soundtracks. Where earlier Covet records leaned harder into technical acrobatics, catharsis finds the trio pushing into more atmospheric and song-shaped territory. It sits as a mature step in a catalog that has grown steadily warmer and more accessible without sacrificing craft.

The Album

catharsis arrived in 2023 on Triple Crown Records, following the band's 2020 release technicolor and a period marked by lineup shifts and touring interruptions. Young produced the record herself, and the arrangements lean into cleaner tones, layered synths, and vocal textures alongside the group's signature guitar work. The result feels less like a showcase of technique and more like a suite of interconnected moods, with tracks flowing into one another as reflections on grief, healing, and self-reckoning. Even the sequencing suggests emotional architecture, with an "interlude" resetting the record's second half. It's Covet's most personal statement, framing virtuosity as a vehicle for feeling rather than the point itself.

Listen For

Yvette Young's guitar language. Listen to how she uses tapping and open tunings not as tricks but as a melodic vocabulary. On "coronal" and "firebird," the fingerwork functions like a lead vocal, carrying the tune rather than decorating it.

The rhythm section's pocket. Instrumental music lives or dies on the groove underneath, and the bass and drums here breathe with real dynamics. "bronco" is a good place to hear how the low end anchors Young's higher-register runs.

Song shapes and swells. These tracks build in waves rather than verse-chorus blocks. Notice how "vanquish" and "smolder" set up quiet passages before opening into fuller sections.

Vocals as texture. Where earlier Covet was almost entirely instrumental, this album leans on Young's voice as another color. Pay attention to how her singing sits in the mix, sometimes forward, sometimes floating like an atmospheric layer.

The emotional arc. The record is framed as a journey through processing hard feelings. Track the mood shift from the opener "coronal" through the reset of "interlude" and into the closer "lovespell" to hear that arc land.