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The Dreadful
Yawns: Self-Titled
This album has not left my stereo since I first put it in. This would be about a week ago, the night my review was due, thus the night I decided to listen to the album for the first time. Ive listened to it about twenty times since, and the stereo agreeably keeps going back to it. Honestly, I could have written a review that night full of praise and gush, but I would not have felt that I gave the music proper judgment. You would think after a year of reviewing and running into the same problem of being late, one might catch on and decide that no, the night a review is due is not the best night to listen to it for the first time. Duly noted. The only time that is a good idea is a night that you decided you really dont like the album and you just happen to be falling-over drunk. Then its like going to the carnival. Anyway, this is good music. The Dreadful Yawns have a sound not too far from Wilco and their grandfathers, the Byrds. Its a mellowed out trip into rustic Lonesome Town, Nowhere, America (or Antarctica?). The album really seems to have no time or place to it; it merely exists in its own right somewhere off the coast or buried deep in the woods of a town with population 3. Its as haunting as it is beautiful and depressing as it is warming. It is familiar but heartbreaking and tragic. The Yawns have that rare strength found among bands consisting of multiple songwriters and vocalists, creating a full potential of ever-evolving musical ability. The effects of a bright, shining telecaster are set against a weeping acoustic 12-string echoes dusty, forgotten memories and sparse, cracked thoughts. It creates a certain parchedness while fulfilling the need at the same time. Its simply moving and depressingly perfect. If youre looking for standout tracks to check out before buying the album, and you wont trust my theyre all good claim, then start with You Sold the Farm, Its a Charmed Life (thats my favorite) and Get Straight. But really, theyre all good and you cant listen to one of those tracks without the stability of the others. The People and the Sky has an unbelievable noise/space breakdown halfway through, lasting about ten minutes before heading back into a gorgeous single guitar melody. Perfect. And Im hardly gushing. Check out this new Bomp! release; youll dig it. Best listened to alone with can in hand.
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