Take Shape (2008):
Rest (2007):
20. The Dreadful Yawns
Take Shape
(Exit Stencil)
It ebbs and flows, fakes out and freaks out, rocks and retreats with a wide dynamic range, and has a general sense of unpredictability, not in the what the f*ck is this band doing now kind of way, but in a good way, where the listener is kept on the edge anticipating what could come next. There's the garage rock rave ups ("Queen and The Jokester" and "Kill Me Now"), some psychedelic swamp boogie ("Saved"), and a much needed come down ("Dead Soldiers.")
Speaking of unpredictability, Take Shape's highlight, "Don't Know What I've Been On," thrives on it. In another band's hands, it would be nothing more than a loose, jangly, psychedelic pop number. Yet, the Yawns take this basic pop number, and twist it and stretch it with a series of wild and free guitar solos which make repeated attempts to completely eliminate any memory of the opening melody. They start, stop, then rock. Start, stop, then rock. They continually tease the listener, and just when you think the interstellar freak out will win, there it is. The opening melody returns, slight, delicate, and a little worse for the wear. What an amazing ride!
[ top of page ]
THE DREADFUL YAWNS / "Take Shape" – Exit Stencil – CD
Not since "30 Rock's" first season has Cleveland, Ohio (the Cleve!) been as attractive as it is now listening to The Dreadful Yawns. The Ohio quintet returns with their fourth album, Take Shape, their second for Cleveland's Exit Stencil Recordings. Folk rock with a shade of psych, The Dreadful Yawns swathe the genre with more boy-girl singing adorableness than the Mommas & The Poppas on a Corey Haim-sized prescription drug binge. As gritty as the songs occasionally get, this band is just charming to the nines. Even the sad bastard track "All For Me" can't put a damper on this pajama party. The album opener "Like Song," with its unreserved wispiness ("I'd meet you at the gate/I'd always make you wait/Cus I was always late") is a shoe-in for the Juno 2 soundtrack. The album closer, "Mood Assassin," impedes on some Mogwai territory, but it's done with surprisingly little decadence. Perennial Elephant 6ers are likely to find a soft spot for Take Shape with its organs, jangly guitars and various "pet sounds." All in all, Take Shape is a perfect introduction to an adorable band from Cleveland.
(Brian McKinney) (Exit Stencil Recordings, 16101 Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110)
[ top of page ]
The Dreadful Yawns / Rest (Exit Stencil) Indie
The Dreadful Yawns are a band critics would describe as being undecided about what kind of band they are—country-folk-rock, psychedelic, or other? On their third album, they try all of the above, and surprisingly they succeed at everything. “You’ve Been Recorded” (#1) sounds like the Byrds, circa “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” that is, post 12-string Dylan covers and post Gram Parsons-originated country rock. “Changing States” (#2) and “When I Lost My Voice” (#3) continue the folk-rock direction, using almost the same railroad shuffle rhythm, but by the end of the latter tune, they’ve veered more Parsons’ way with steel guitar and multi-part harmonies. For pure Parsons, try “November Nights” (#6), penned by Parsons, and rendered here perfectly with plenty of steel guitar and organ. On “Candles” (#4), they detour into contemporary folk-rock sound, a la Innocence Mission, with a slower beat, multi-part harmonies, slide guitar, and strings. “Due South” (#7) is also in this vein, though with electric piano rather than strings and minimalist lyrics. “We Go Up” (#8) has a psychedelic feel, thanks to echoing electric guitar chords, a lush bed of strings, and finger-picked acoustic guitar. “Being Used to You” (#9) changes direction again with a quirky banjo-led hoe-down with a dobro break, but the album comes full circle with “End of Summer” (#10) describing the boredom of summer accompanied by heavily reverbed steel guitar and a spacey-sounding saw. Given the many directions this album takes and that 4 of the 5 band members quit during the recording process, there’s no telling what the next Dreadful Yawns record will sound like, if there is one. But this one should tide us over very nicely until that time.
Paul Borelli 6/30/07
[ top of page ]
Rest
The Dreadful Yawns
Exit Stencil Recordings
I've always liked Ben Gmetro and the Dreadful Yawns, but having consumed their latest, 10-cut affair Rest on a spectacularly dreary-and-rainy day a couple weeks ago, I've decided they are divine. The group's blend of alt-country and "minimalist psychedelic folk" is as diverse as it is texturally rich. That mellow, melancholy singer-songwriter vibe is a dicey proposition for some -- most musicians get too wrapped up in their influences to deliver something fresh and inviting. No so for our very own Dreadful Yawns, whose latest effort Rest feels like a seductive sedative and begs for repeat doses. Guitarist/vocalist Gmetro and the Yawns transcend those influences, offering silvered threads of the folk pop movement (Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, Ron Sexsmith, Fairport Convention) and a touch of alt-Americana (Wilco, Neil Young), woven into a chiming tonal tapestry. From the words "You've Been Recorded," Rest feels like sleepy dreams and memories escaping into a cool fall evening. With delicate pedal steel runs, violin and flute solos and scrumptous vocal harmonies, Rest has everything in its right place -- absolute torch and twang, acoustic jangle and heartfelt melancholia. Highlights from this masterwork include "Changing States," "November Nights," a trippy "We Go Up" and the oh-so-appropriate anthem for this week, "End of Summer." All are stunning and radiant. Gram Parsons once termed this kind of alt-country "cosmic American music." After hearing the lilting chorale of la la la las in the chorus that closes out "Candles," you'll long for a dark, stormy afternoon to play this. Positively beautiful, and a huge, must-have local release.Catch the Dreadful Yawns with labelmates Mystery of Two at the latter band's CD release party Friday September 14 at Parish Hall Cleveland. It's one of the final shows at Parish Hall, so don't miss out.
From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian
[ top of page ]
The Dreadful Yawns Rest (Exit Stencil) Rest is the second album from this Cleveland-based psychfolk quintet. The songs are simplistic and pretty, reminiscent of the Byrds or Buffalo Springfield. Recording took two years, but in no way is it over-produced, unlike much of today's indie-rock. Yawns' founder Ben Gemtro keeps it simple. Rest could be mistaken for classic '60s folk with a more ambient style that borders on spacey. It's perfect for a train ride at an ambiguous life moment, when contemplating ups and downs, loves and losses and you don't get down despite the uncertainty of it all. -Grey Kupiec
[ top of page ]
DREADFUL YAWNS/Rest: Hmm, not the easiest set to describe but here goes. Ernest lo fi country that's been mixmastered through new school sensibilities but draws just as much from Velvet Underground as it does Neil Young. A very smart performance that has no business being on a very indie label when it has so much big time stuff on the ball, this is this generation's answer to 70's country rock. Mush has been replaced by subtle edge and the total effect is simply the stunning kind of thing you just want to take on along walk. Hot stuff. (Exit)
[ top of page ]
Billed early on as a psychedelic folk act, Cleveland-based The Dreadful Yawns is taking more of an organic approach on its latest effort, Rest. The tender album, filled with gentle whisper screams and steel-guitar melodies, has a lost-friend feel -- like a vinyl release inside an old, worn-out and dog-eared album cover. The personal yearning of "When I Lost my Voice" seems like emotional baggage, while the folksy Crosby, Stills & Nash feel of "November Nights" hearkens back to a simpler time. It's steeped in country roots, but the 10-track album stays away from alt-country posturing. Rest assured, there's nothing dreadful nor yawn-worthy on Rest. A+