[rating=8.00]
When Bloodshot Records signed a little known trio from Denver called the Yawpers earlier this year, it seemed like a
move out of left field. Then again, in its 20 year history the Chicago record label has always had a gift for discovering and signing fresh talent (Ryan Adams, Old 97’s, Waco Brothers) before the rest of the world gets hip to it.
American Man is the Yawpers’ Bloodshot debut, but it’s the second full length album from a band already well versed in rock and roll. We get immediate proof of that with the aptly titled album opener “Doing It Right”, a song that starts at a simmer with minimal guitar picking and the stinging, edgy vocals of lead man Nate Cook. From here the band adds layers of drums and slide guitar, taking their time to bring the tune to a raucous boil that explodes in a slide-driven throwdown. The Yawpers are here to make a statement and prove to the world that they are indeed doing it right. This is the specialty of these Colorado rockers; songs often start off sparse with little more than an acoustic guitar and Cook’s scratchy vocals before the band heaps on more instruments and ultimately catapults each song into all-out hysteria. Made more interesting is the trio’s overdriven acoustic guitars, which makes them even more impressive given the mammoth sound they tap in to.
The Yawpers are unquestionably rough around the edges, and it’s easy to picture them swinging from the rafters in a booze-soaked dive bar, but American Man also shows us a band capable of lyrical depth. On songs like the title track, “Burdens”, “Faith and Good Judgement”, and the jamboree hoedown of “Beale Street”, Nate Cook is a storyteller hellbent on painting his own ragged picture of American adolescence. His penchant for writing a good song and telling a tale puts him somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle, only maybe a little more drunk. Like those acts, the Yawpers also manage to add a sort of loose country twang to whiskey-voiced rock songs loaded with bravado. Yet, underneath the grit are catchy melodies that show this band is ready and able to take on bigger stages and crowds than what they might get at their local bar. “9 to 5”, “Walter” – laced with a vicious cowbell – and the psychedelic glory of “The Desert” are songs that feel radio-ready with choruses that are easy to sing along with and linger in your head.
Between the caliber of songwriting and relentless energy coming through in the musicianship throughout American Man, the Yawpers are far from being just another band trying to rip off the Black Keys’ garage rock sound. Their sound is all its own, a volatile stew of punk, country, Americana, old timey and bluegrass music, and good ol’ rock and roll. The folks at Bloodshot clearly made a smart move signing the Yawpers, as American Man is an strong label debut from a band that seem more than ready to kick ass and take names. Let’s hope these guys tour heavily behind this album, because it leaves you itching to to catch them in the flesh for what is undoubtedly a riotous, killer live show.
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