2023-07-07 07:00:01
(c) Yawning Balch
Yawning Man are currently on a roll. Only a few weeks after the release of “Long Walk Of The Navajo” they are back with another record, albeit under a different name. In November 2022, they invited Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) to a five-hour jam session in Joshua Tree National Park. The only requirement: the guitarists Balch and Gary Arce wanted to try out as many effect pedals as possible. In the process, two records were created Yawning Balchas the jam group calls itself, „Volume One“ starts.
The full A-side belongs to “Dreaming With Eyes Open”, 21+ minutes of dreamwalking through the desert. Here you can find everything you know from Yawning Man in terms of transistor chic, desert style and psychedelic sound journey, light-footed and yet haunting. Balch’s second guitar, accompanied by countless effect devices, feels its way through the thicket with growing enthusiasm. The surroundings are explored in a washed-out and yet concrete way, even a bit more abruptly in the final act, before a regular fade-out at the climax of a playful solo leads to nothing.
“Cemetery Glitter” cranks up the psych parts, comes across as springy and searching. Billy Cordell’s bass takes on a prominent role while the alienated guitars seek fulfillment, behind them Bill Stinson remains a stoic clockwork. Again and again new variations of an already relaxed leitmotif urge to higher spheres of existence. “Low Pressure Valley” is the shortest jam at seven and a half minutes and turns to comparatively classic realms. The wonderfully unreal floating feels its way through the desert scenery shrouded in starlight.
No surprise in view of those involved: “Volume One” has become a little treat. Here you can let yourself fall and drift, because the only roughly outlined, yet very concrete jams always reach their goal. Yawning Man and Bob Balch find an exciting musical denominator that relies on wide-open soundscapes, psychedelic desert onomatopoeia and effective alienation amidst laid-back leisureliness. The second part can already be eagerly awaited.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 07/07/2023
Available through: Heavy Psych Sounds Records (Cargo Records)
Website: yawningman.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/yawningmanofficial
Slider-Pic (c) Yawning Balch
Category: Magazin, Reviews
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