Seems as if every music critic/blogger nowadays has to make their claim to fame by inventing a new musical genre. Aquacrunk. Witch House. Post-Dubstep. On my first listen of Chicago-based YAWN’s debut EP, I came up with a new one: Post-Merriweather Post Pavilion. This is to say, music that has been released after/heavily influenced by Animal Collective’s critically acclaimed 2009 full length.
This is not a derivative tag at all. Though I did not consider myself an immediate fan of Merriweather, it remains Animal Collective’s most polished, cohesive, and accessible offering to date. YAWN take the blueprint that AC has paved, and run with it. Tribal rythms, rattling shakers, pounding sub-kicks, and multi-layered vocal harmonies swim amongst waves of delayed synths and noise. It is all very catchy and fun.
YAWN is a good band that has taken time to polish their sound. I was impressed to find out that the EP was recorded in their apartment. I figured that much of the album was arranged and programmed on a computer, but the vocals and drums are crisp and well-recorded. All of the songs are immediately listenable and extremely catchy. I would not be surprised to see these guys playing Pitchfork fest within the next year. This EP is available for free download on their website, so I see no reason not to check them out.
