Yumi Zouma are in promotion mode for their January 2026 LP, ‘No Love Lost to Kindness’, the alt rock act’s fifth album, and ninth release overall. Yumi Zouma have been in existence for over a decade and are famously transcontinental, with members now settled in different places across the globe, something that impacts their connection and often reflects in the band’s work. Amanda Mills talked with Christie Simpson and Josh Burgess, about new directions and shifting perspectives.

After a decade of being labelled a dream pop band, Yumi Zouma are having a sonic evolution that had its spark with their 2023 EP ‘IV’. 

Recorded in Japan over a period of a few weeks, all four band members wrote that EP from scratch – something they hadn’t done before. It was released on a label services deal, low-key in terms of release and promotion campaign. Back then they were still processing the stresses of Covid lockdowns. 

“It was a little bit more DIY, more in our control and there was a lot less pressure,” Christie Simpson, the band’s main vocalist, recalls. “I think we’d struggled as a band because we had toured so hard, and it had put a lot of strain on us. All of that reflected in how that sound kind of came out. We weren’t in the mood or the mindset, and the surroundings had changed. It just would have felt so disingenuous to the state of the world to put out breezy, chill, wave music.”

Produced by Josh Burgess (guitar, vocals and keys) and Charlie Ryder (guitar, bass and keys), their new ‘No Love Lost to Kindness’ underscores the change in sound, one obvious difference being a move towards more expansive guitar textures. 

“I think whenever we make changes to the sonic landscape that we’re writing in, they feel quite drastic,” Burgess reflects. “When you go kind of more rock, or you push into that more traditional instrumentation, you want things to sound massive. 

“We were lucky enough to spend about a week at Roundhead, and just having access to heaps of amps, which we don’t normally record with. That’s probably as expansive as it got, with Neil Finn’s amp collection!” 

Differences feature subtly too, as Simpson laughs. 

“Key changes! We’ve got a key change in that stuff! All the singles were all the big rock songs on the album,” she admits. “There’s quite a lot of variety on the album, a lot of songs that are very moody. They’re a little bit more sad, but I still think they fall in that dream-pop world.” 

Another change element is producer and musician Simon Gooding, who mixed the album and made the process more collaborative with arrangements allowing the last parts of the album to be more creatively open than in the past. 

Simpson also attributes the arrival of drummer Olivia Campion (also of Wellington band Mystery Waitress), who joined the band in 2017, for their sonic shift. 

“We’ve just gradually become rockier when we play live. Liv, who’s an incredible drummer just propels things forward. She can match that energy so well. I feel like that’s just transformed us, and I think that’s what this album shows, it has a lot of louder moments, a lot of quieter moments.”

Following the tradition of Yumi Zouma recording in global settings, ‘No Love Lost to Kindness’ was recorded in Mexico City, with a finishing session in Auckland at Roundhead. As a recording location, Mexico City proved ideal. The band had played shows there on tour, and decided to spend more time there, finding inspiration in the city. 

“I’d visited a few times, but the rest of the band hadn’t,” Burgess recalls. “I thought it was a place that we should stop and smell the flowers. Renting a studio kind of came naturally.” One factor was cost – it was less expensive than a studio in New York or L.A. – but Mexico City’s music environment was another strong factor in staying there to record. 

“In the city there is music everywhere, you know? There’s music on the street. There’s music in all the restaurants and bars. Music feels like an important part of the way that city runs,” Burgess reflects. “So it’s nice to make music somewhere where there’s a lot of noise – such a culturally rich place. That feeling of Mexico City is one that I hope is in the seeds of the record for sure.” 

It’s not easy being in a working band with everyone scattered across the globe. Time zones, distance, and careers have a tendency to collide, but the band, which had its start in 2013, make it work. 

“It’s really challenging. I think we sometimes don’t give ourselves enough credit that it’s a really big hurdle for everyone to find the time to put into this project. The time zone thing is just forever a riddle that we never crack,” Burgess grins. 

“Honestly it feels harder than ever in the post-Covid world,” Simpson adds. “The fact that we do keep doing it and we made this album was a real testament to the fact that we can still do it. It is so much more satisfying I think these days to be doing stuff IRL.” 

There has been talk of friction, which they say, is also borne out of distance, having different lives and pressures, and emerging frustrations. 

“You feel like those differences are things you can sometimes poke at, or sometimes they’re things you’re fascinated by,” Burgess thinks. “These things all exist under the surface, and then when you lock yourself in the studio for like seven or eight days, it’s natural that those frictions come up. There was a lot of music that was like written in the room in those moments.” 

He thinks this brings energy to their music, while Simpson sees the songs as more about catharsis. “The process of creating this album, having the end result be something that someone else helped you create, can really help heal a lot of wounds. It’s also healing for us as a group.”

‘No Love Lost to Kindness’ also introduces new writing styles, including a playfulness with lyrics, and songs like Phoebe’s Song which was written by Burgess for his partner. Love songs are an outlier in the Yumi Zouma catalogue. He notes in the song’s press release that it’s ‘…a bold testament to our love, but also a small window into the joy of co-existing with your person.’ 

“This is probably the first album we’ve done where there’s something you could point to in every song. It’s the spectrum of human emotion,” says Simpson who has relished her own increased songwriting role. 

“I’ve been given so much of a platform to write stories that I wanted to write. And that’s quite a sacrifice, because Charlie and Josh are both really amazing songwriters and lyricists. They do so much of the work, and so to give me that space has been really amazing.” 

She cites Chicago, 2AM as one from her own perspective, with emotions running the gamut from frustration to elation. Other songs delve into diverse topics like corrupt government practices, and a future where relationships are interplanetary. 

“There was an active effort to write about things that maybe we hadn’t written before lyrically,” smiles Burgess. “Inevitably you write about yourself and your life… it was nice to sort of push into a few other pockets like world commentary, which we hadn’t done before.” 

The album’s breezy first single Bashful on the Sugar is based on Burgess’ experiences of the New York subway. 

“When you’re on the subway you go from stop to stop and you see people entering from the outside elements,” he reflects. “I’m always fascinated with people entering the subway.” 

Did You See Her, one of Simpson’s favourite tracks, hints at further change for Yumi Zouma. 

“It’s got more of a folk sound, which is not something we’ve ever really explored,” she says “When we were writing this song, some ideas came out that felt like this palpable sadness. I think that was something that I put into the song.” 

She wasn’t sure if it made sense to the others, but says it felt like it came from her soul, so they made it work.

“When we were working on it I was thinking, ‘Where did this come from? What is this sound?’ Those early Stevie Nicks’ demos when you hear the rawness… that’s what I really wanted to replicate.” 

The album title, ‘No Love Lost to Kindness’, they explain as phonetically appealing, and something they all liked. 

“We were brainstorming it and ‘kindness’ came up as a potential word to sit in there,” Simpson says. “We exist in a time that hate is becoming more and more normalised… it just felt like a positive manifestation to put that out there into the world. If you’re kind, that is about the biggest and the best thing you can do.” 

Burgess agrees. “As sort of a base level, there’s nothing you lose out to kindness. It doesn’t take away from anything else.”

In early in 2025 Yumi Zouma signed to Nettwerk Music Group to release the album. Two years ago they’d started hearing about the global independent label through meeting bands signed to Nettwerk. 

“We were like, is this some kind of crazy propaganda?” Simpson laughs. “Everywhere we go, there’s people saying, ‘You should sign with them.’” 

Nettwerk’s use of analytics and data modelling was important. “We’re the kind of band that stuff is really useful for because we don’t have the same sort of live touring business as other people. Using data to work out where to go and get you better known… I think that was the main drawcard.” 

The band will be touring the UK and Europe, and then the US over March to May 2026, their first comprehensive tour since 2023. “We’ve always been so fortunate that we can string together some dates in Europe and America,” Burgess says. “It always feels like the second life of a record is when you take it on the road, so we’re looking forward to that.” 

A tour of Aotearoa is hopefully in the pipeline for 2026 too, ‘stay tuned for that’ is their message. Yumi Zouma have continually been a band in motion, but Simpson reckons they’re now more focused. 

“Everything we do now is laced with a lot more intention. It’s not an automatic thing for us anymore… we really have to make time for it, make it happen, take time out from our lives. 

“We’ve all had various struggles over the last five years or so, but I hope that what it does is actually give the music more integrity, it feels honest. And also just more everything. Do it bigger. Do it bolder… be comfortable within that.”