ALBUM REVIEW: Yawning Man, ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’

By: Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/07/2018

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds

Yawning Man have upped their game. They’ve always been life affirming, but now they’re just plain vital. ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is nothing short of sheer sonic perfection.

 ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Black Kite
2. Revolt Against Tired Noises
3. Skyline Pressure
4. Grant’s Heart
5. Violent Lights
6. Catamaran
7. Misfortune Cookies
8. Ghost Beach

The Review:

It’s been a long, strange and beautiful ride for Yawning Man. From their infamous generator parties in the Californian deserts in the late 1980s to their stunning 2016 third album ‘Historical Graffiti’, guitarist Gary Arce and bassist Mario Lalli have built their musical legacy at a snail’s pace and with scant regard for commercial considerations. Their lush, trippy, widescreen instrumental compositions have thrilled those in the know, with live shows becoming borderline religious experiences. ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is easily and by some stretch the best Yawning Man album to date.

Opening cut ‘Black Kite’ is the finest piece of music they’ve put their name to. Indeed, it might just be the most perfect five minutes of rock you’ll wrap your ears around in 2018. Ambient, achingly melancholy, it tingles and shines and soars and sounds like heaven. There are several other equally breath-taking Yawning Man classics here, but the big curve ball and shock news for hardcore fans is that two songs feature Mario Lalli on vocals. And wonderful they are too: ‘Grant’s Heart’ benefits from his wondrous syrupy crooning, adding a whole new emotional layer over the sumptuous lead guitar lines underneath. The second sung song sees Yawning Man finally commit ‘Catamaran’ to vinyl: their own composition, but one made famous by Kyuss on the stoner kings 1995 album ‘The Circus Leaves Town’.

Yawning Man have upped their game. They’ve always been life affirming, but now they’re just plain vital. ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is nothing short of sheer sonic perfection.

‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook