It always begins with delicate, arpeggio-filled melodies that draw the skyline of some faraway lands. Then YAWNING MAN weave the patterns: rocks, lakes, forests, rivers, sparse greenery… These impressionists strive to raise vistas that get repeated over and over like arabesques. The soundscapes can seem repetitive, yet they are being sprinkled with many subtle variations that spare us from monotony. Also, the reverb. This delightful reverb that carries you away just like Icarus flying too close from the sun…
It’s all about an odyssey. Or a reverie, in the soundscapes it outlines. It’s endless, or with no initial destination. However, once you get into the trip, this bittersweet spleen slowly invites you to explore your inner self and mindfulness. This is what YAWNING MAN do: their music captures the vastness of the desert, whether it is arid, verdurous or undulating; the plenitude of its beauty and the feelings it provides.
YAWNING MAN depict that plenitude feeling. When the infinitely large and the depths of your soul meet, you become fully aware of yourself, your situation and actions in light of the surrounding nature. What is better than a no man’s land to assess this? The infinitely large to understand mankind and ultimately, who we are.
We discussed with Brant Bjork about those musicians’ mystical attraction to the desert. A needed solitude to take a deep breath and feed their creativity. This is what this music is about, and YAWNING MAN have always been hailed as the founders of Desert Rock, for they embrace its spirit and environment like no one else. Undoubtedly, their thirty years of experience as desert lords has a lot to do with it. Only seasoned artists make such substantially emotional music, making it seem like it’s a piece of cake, whereas this warm and laid-back sonic tour de force is mostly induced by the sheer chemistry between Mario Lalli, Gary Arce and Bill Stinson.
Luxurious and wide-ranging, ‘Macedonian Lines’ keeps the ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ experience going, this time with no vocals to really capture the inwardness of a music genre and place they’ve highly contributed to put on the map. We get taken aback by the little means implemented all throughout these six jams, as well as the incredible pleasure they give us. Despite being quite short and bereft of climax, you will end craving more of this addictive sonic tao.
The skyline and your soul haven’t been that close. It’s just the matter of… a line.
ARTIST: Yawning Man
ALBUM: “MacedonianLines”
LABEL: Heavy Psych Sounds Records
Genre: Instrumental desert rock
More: Facebook / Bandcamp / HPS Records
Last modified: 15 July 2019
