Yawning Man: Pothead

Here is one of the longest running desert rock bands around. Hailing from the desert area of southern California, Yawning Man has been plying its trade since 1986. I have not had the good fortune of hearing the band since their debut EP titled Pothead arrived in the mailbox. The album was initially released in 2005 but has been rediscovered by our good friends at Ripple Music, repackaged as a digi with brand new artwork.

The band’s sound is not your typically distorted guitar drenched in feedback and huge amounts of fuzz. Please do not get me wrong, I have come to love that stuff but this is something just a little different. The band does great job of utilizing textured slabs of psychedelia, in near cosmic-like proportions. Free form juxtapositions of guitar, bass, and drums take unexpected turns through the desert soundscape.

The disc begins with the slowly burning “Manolete� where psychedelic riffs lightly sprinkled with fuzzy distortion combine with the fiery nature of Blues music, a mixture made in heaven, or should I say the desert. The guitar work is a highlight traveling through varying atmospheres, exploring their surroundings as only a well formed power trio can. With “Digital Smoke Signals� you get a spry groove with a spacey vibe, cinematic in approach with slowly brewing psychedelic effects. The guitar, drums, and bass are all given equal weight in this one. The moodiness is palpable in the deeply etched grooves of “Encounters With An Angry God�, a compelling journey into the band’s indelible bent towards psychedelic rock. The disc ends with “Samba De Primavera� where darker turns merge with Yawning Man’s predilection for well nuanced jams.

Pothead is a superb listen and one I highly recommend to anyone remotely interested in the desert rock genre.

Track Listing:
1. Manolete
2. Digital Smoke Signals
3. Encounters With An Angry God
4. Samba De Primavera

Added: April 21st 2025
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 187
Language: english

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