Yawning Man - Nomadic Pursuits (Cobraside)
FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE STARS
This album should win an award for managing to be transcendentally amazing in spite of its cover art. Actually, never mind, I take that back. Nomadic Pursuits being so perfect in spite of that goofy Easter Island-inspired Geocities cartoon on the jacket is wholly representative of what Yawning Man are about. They absolutely don’t give a fuck about “success,” marketing, press releases, booking agents, publicity, or making the front of their record look cool; never fucking have, never fucking will. What other band has so wholly eschewed all trappings of Record Business over the course of their 25-year career that they have never, even to this day, toured the entire US? What other band has successfully launched such an innumerable horde of imitators-cum-millionaires, in fact likely influenced the progression of not just their own musical universe but indeed the fabled Rock World in general, without ever having sacrificed their integrity for the almighty dollar, or breaking apart on the precipice of their egos?
This is only the third “official” Yawning Man release since their formation in the mid-1980s—and before 2005’s Rock Formations and 2007’s Pot Head, the band was essentially a myth to those not directly located within striking distance of the desert which birthed them—if you were seeking their material, your best bet was to befriend an old stoner and demand a dubbed cassette. Much of this pre-2005 material, culled from the band’s widely circulated 80s demos, was released this year as The Birth of Sol. (Yes, it shreds.)
Nomadic Pursuits finds the trio—still comprised of original members Gary Arce (guitar), Alfredo Hernandez (drums) and Mario Lalli (bass)—more stunningly powerful and hypnotic than ever, obviously deep in third-eye cosmic communion with each other. They often cast off both sparse, stirring desert soundscapes and pounding, interpolated rhythm in the space of a single composition and, for the majority of the album, fill far more sonic real estate than seems possible for just three players. There is no bullshit on this record—just seven strong songs laced with enough subliminal hooks to have you whistling Arce’s melodies in the shower a week after you finally put it down. It is free of every production trick and cliché vestige of “stoner”/”desert rock," the band essentially playing the role of sonic shaman, beckoning you to immerse yourself fully, to flip the peregrina platter again, and again, and again.... There aren’t words to describe how refreshing a listening experience Nomadic Pursuits provides. Buy this record now. No, seriously, right now—you’re on the fucking internet, aren’t you?
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Nomadic Pursuits can be purchased here. The Birth Of Sol, featuring "Catamaran" (later covered by Kyuss) is available from itunes here.