YAN YEZ

YAN YEZ started as a life reset; mid-sentence. Songs that didn’t agree with each other forced to bunk together in a bedroom studio. It’s indie rock brushing up against hip-hop, called post-pop, dragging folk and punk into the corner. Maybe we could call it part of the modern Indie Sleaze movement.

Genre is more of a tool for the band vs an identity.
Everything is a lens, really.
Limited, but not boxed. Pretty, but not wrapped. Sometimes rapped, tho.

Led by Nico Yáñez.
Found alongside guitarist Calvin Cohee and percussionist Kira Marie.

The project moves and grows. It’s living, you see. Live shows are energetic; emotionally expressive. A little theatrical. Nothing to scream about. But you might anyway. Political at times. Existential always.

Someone in the press (Out Front Magazine) called it “unexpected and refreshing in a world where all our [other] pop music sounds incredibly similar”. Fusionostalgia heard David Byrne in the vocal delivery and art direction and testified to the band’s ability to blend melody with an impactful message. Indie 102.3 named YAN YEZ a Top 20 Artist of 2025.

Those were nice to hear.

There’s faith. Failed faith. Queerness. Capitalism commentary. Loneliness, sure. Love, always. 

There’s some good musical bits in there, too.

Outside the band, Nico Yañez works as an actor, writer, filmmaker (Babylon, The Christmas Pitch, Ideal Husband). Occasional podcast guest (NPR’s The Pulse, Melody Rachel’s You Know I, and more). Same artistic pursuit and messaging. Different rooms and mediums.