Review Summary: An absolute gem with way too little recognition.
YAWN is a band that, despite having a very solid sound with consistent improvement and a obvios knack for unique sounding rock, has remained mostly unknown for their lifespan, with their most recognition being "Day Trip" on Spotify with about 180k streams. But outside of Spotify, their presence has remained criminally unknown, and I want to change that. Even if only a little, I want to bring attention to this band with what I think is their best effort over the span of their work so far, that being Love Chills.
Love Chills is an album that, right off the bat, let's you know what you're in for. That being, some good ass psych rock. But they make sure that if you weren't hooked right off the bat, that "Flytrap" gets ya with probably the heaviest guitar rifts on the whole project, backed with some solid drums to bat. Now if you aren't hooked by this point, then well played, I tried my best, but if you like what you've heard up to this point, then be prepared to continue to be impressed as the album goes on. And remember, this is all coming from a band playing with a minimal budget out of who knows where in Chicago, they aren't some big time who's got more than enough money to throw around, and they're making THIS. And sure, the instrumentals are great and quite impressive for their size, but I'd be a fool to skip over the production. The production on this thing is amazing, and after I got myself an admittingly cheap but good pair of headphones, listening to this helped me appreciate how much more this has to offer. Intricately placed oddments of instruments, samples, and vocal harmonies, all somehow complimenting the main focus of the song without sounding too crowded is something hard to pull off, and I feel they did just exactly that. They continue to impress throughout the whole project, but where I feel they really show their diversity in sound is in "Follow You", fittingly around the middle of the record. This song features some of the weirdest sounds in the whole album, with a foreboding echoing starting at the very beginning letting you know that their sound is taking such a turn in the first place. Sounds of what seems like a tambourine (?), strange guitar plucking, what sounds almost like maracas, and even more oddments, all led by a simple, sad acoustic guitar with some of the most hopeless sounding vocals in the whole album. And that's another thing, this song sounds hopeless, with an almost dread being presented like something horrible has happened and all you can do is cope with it. But where it really, REALLY comes in is near about the last fourth, where some of the most heart wrenching guitar leads I've heard in a while come in to break out into a grand finale. To explain in the best way I can, if an an electric guitar could cry, that's what'd sound like. Then, the foreboding pulse comes back, to lead us back out just the way we came, with vocals perfectly ending it off. And speaking of the vocals, I feel that's another thing this record excels in. They feel almost amateurish at times, but yet somehow, they fit perfectly with the sound of the music, and my god, Adam Gil's (lead vocalist) has some amazing falsettos. Not to mention, the way vocals are at times layered over each other sounds fantastic. Overall, this project is just too good to stay unnoticed.
Please, consider giving it a listen, even if you don't like it as much as I do, I feel their work is too impressive to be left unknown. This is a group I've listened to for years, so of course I would be more inclined to their music than maybe some others, but I've thought about it, I really have, and I truly feel this group has so much potential for greatness. They have amazing production for their size, solid guitar and drum work, and a very skilled lead vocalist. And not to mention, it's psych rock, what more could you want?
