Yea-Ming And The Rumours I Can't Have It All

I Can’t Have It All is the third studio album by Yea-Ming and The Rumours and marks a new line-up and creative era for the band. Frontwoman Yea-Ming Chen has masterfully curated her self-proclaimed “pop record.” Weaving melancholy narratives with catchy hooks in a sound that is more surfy, more punk and more indie than anything the Rumours have done before. Fuller sounding production heavily influenced by groups like Yo La Tengo, Camera Obscura and other early '90s underground college radio favorites, I Can’t Have It All marks the band’s continued evolution.

Alongside the usual beautiful imagery, Yea-Ming’s songwriting remains as introspective as ever, but I Can’t Have It All marks a changing point both creatively and personally in the songstress’ life. Written during a difficult period in which she struggled to identify and painfully shed a “false-self" imposed by the outside world, the album follows the personal and relatable journey of accepting loss and making changes. “I realized one day that I have spent most of my life pretending to be someone that other people wanted me to be, and that was probably the source of my anxiety and depression.” Recalls the songwriter. “So I made changes that were really hard and I experienced a lot of grief in letting go of people and situations that held a lot of power over me emotionally—even if it wasn’t intentional—and I became someone that is closer to who I want to be. In that transition, I discovered that it is completely possible to experience total sadness and extreme happiness simultaneously within the same body." These complicated feelings are clearly reflected in the new record—especially in ‘Pretending’, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’, ‘I Can’t Have It All' and ‘Ruby’.

The title track and the first single, “I Can’t Have It All”, describes the ugly journey of accepting unrequited love. Brutally honest and painful, the narrator confesses to finding solace in a night of drinking and a stranger in their bed as they accept they can’t have it all. The lyric video features animated drawings offering an innocent and playful take on the somber and sobering realization that everything might not work out in the end and a bit of distraction helps ease the pain.

Produced by Chen, the album was mostly recorded and sculpted in her home studio after basic tracks were recorded with Meric Long (The Dodos) at Tiny Telephone Studios and Mike Walti at Wyldwood Studios. As usual, the record is performed by Yea-Ming with the help of long-time Rumours collaborators Eóin Galvin on lead guitar, lap steel and backing vocals and Sonia Hayden on drums and percussion on several of the tracks. New Rumours members Jen Weisberg (Hits) and Luke Robbins (Latitude) also make their debut and appear on bass and drums throughout the record. I Can’t Have It All is a new album with a new line-up and a new perspective, signifying Yea-Ming and The Rumours’ entry into a new era.