ALBUM REVIEW: Macedonian Lines – Yawning Man

Instrumental albums can sometimes be swept up in being as monumental as possible, confusing structures to achieve some sort of grandeur in the absence of vocals. Others are over simplified, more tribal, but eventually taper into something repetitive and dull. Not YAWNING MAN, who taper between the dynamic and the emotionally driven on their latest album Macedonian Lines.

Virtual Funeral saunters in, a fuzzy bassline full of confidence and stoic assurance. The overarching melody is cool and crooning. It’s a simple motion that encompasses the trio equally, keeping things contained and retaining the chilled-out vibe. While things stay virtually the same, small token shifts in tone and texture slowly allow in the introduction of keys and eventually synth, and the overall thickening of the sound. In the final minutes’ things break out into a melancholy homage to what came before, now much less acoustic and much more constructed in the digital space.

Title track Macedonian Lines is much more of a stargazer song in its tone. Another wonderfully layered soundscape of reverberating guitars, octave harmonies and beautiful slow dives from high to low notes. The bass creates a cushion and the drums a pattern of natural beats. There’s so much to be taken from a track like this, especially in the summer time, when the lazy shift in movements can be appreciated properly. If there’s one thing that YAWNING MAN can do, it’s build a layered sound that’s both easy to listen to and simultaneously easy to find something new in on each listen.

Melancholy Sadie takes the delay and reverb to new levels here. As a drum eases you into the feel, the echoing bass breathes under the sweeping guitar and the dreamy piano. There’s a great combination of the new age, modern ideas with classic sounds that really transcend. Moving on to Bowie’s Last Breath, there’s a little more of the bite and simmering aggression than you’d usually associate with desert rock. The bass takes most of the credit for this, as the guitars bring back once more the stargazer vibe. A sort of outer body feeling is evoked in this track; a bittersweet tune laid out over the deeper side of sorrow, occasionally both sides of this theme come together to create something harmonious. For the most part, it’s a great musical embodiment of what can only be assumed as YAWNING MAN’s interpretation of the late David Bowie‘s last moments.

I’m Not A Real Indian (But I Play One On TV) brings back the slightly silly, fun side of YAWNING MAN. It’s in much a similar vein as what came before, with the drums taking on more scope and dynamisms, the guitar ever swooping to and fro across its melodic journey, the bass as ever low and humble as before. Finally, I Make Weird Choices is just as beautifully voiced, capturing a real sense of scale and power, another worldliness, or perhaps a worldly connection we have sort of forgotten about. Its slower moments feel like life’s pauses, where we contemplate how we got to where we are, while the larger than life moments feel like when life’s journey’s take you to unexpected places, where you have little time to think.

Overall, YAWNING MAN have achieved a journey into a captivating world on Macedonian Lines. Bringing in as much a dreamy, space-laden soundscapes to level the grunt and laid-back confidence of desert rock, YAWNING MAN are still at the top of their game when it comes to creating emotive and well thought out tunes. Psychedelic, intricate and expressive, this is a cool but well put together record. Not bloated with filler material, these solid six tracks are a delight to re-listen to, achieving more and more with every listen.

Rating: 8/10

Macedonian Lines is set for release June 14th via Heavy Psych Sounds Records. 

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