Denver-based rock trio The Yawpers’ Boy in a Well is, among other things, a
WWI-era concept album about a child who comes of age at the bottom of a well in
France, arises as the second coming and has an Oedipal conquest prior to death
by hanging before his corpse is interred in the aforementioned well with the
cast-off body of his infant offspring.
If that reads like a book report summary of a
literary-minded period piece, it should. The band’s name pays homage to the
barbaric yawp of Walt Whitman, after all.
However, if it sounds too heady to be the stuff of
badass rock and roll, you’re wildly mistaken.
Co-produced by The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson, the
third full-length release from The Yawpers is an exhilarating thrill ride for
fans who like their tunes loud, scuzzed up, howling and more than a bit
unpredictable.
My introduction to The Yawpers came with their third
album, 2015’s American Man (their
Bloodshot Records debut). That record landed a spot in my top ten albums of the
year, and the Colorado rockers instantly became one of my new favorite bands to
watch.
The payoff is something special. Boy in a Well is a rollicking, bluesy, boogieing affair with
corkscrew tempo changes, some soulful ballads, Cramps-y punk snarl,
Zeppelin-conjuring stomp and swell and a blistering hotbed of rhythm. It’s a narrative-based
blast of a record for bookish punks and 12-bar boozehounds who don’t usually
dig concept albums.
Boy
in a Well opens with “Armistice Day,” riding an ominous “Run
Through the Jungle” sort of groove and death march drums before exploding into
the guttural, howling chorus complete with a manic guitar freakout. The
expository, fiery rockabilly of “A Decision Is Made” ramps things up further,
while “A Visitor Is Welcomed” and “Room with a View” melodically inject space and
warmth into the playing and plot. Then, the spiraling fury and motorcycle gang
chug of “Mon Dieu” rips through the speakers sort of like what I imagine The
Clash in ’77 would’ve sounded like cranking a cover of “Mystery Train” in
double time with a resurrected Keith Moon sitting in on drums. “The Awe and the
Anguish” follows, starting out as almost a quiet, brooding bonfire bloodletting
for two minutes before detonating out of nowhere into full-scale Physical
Graffiti-like apocalyptic bombast. “Mon Nom” is the sliding, snarling
centerpiece that scorches like a gloriously unholy orgy between Nick Cave and
the Bad Seeds and The White Stripes atop an altar at the crossroads. “Face to
Face to Face” rides that high with Buddy Holly hiccup vocals, lyrics about
Revelations, Samson and Delilah, and mother and child against a wall-shredding
breakdown that could stand against the best of Jon Spencer and the Blues
Explosion. “No Going Back” is a high-speed, electric sprint through a minefield
of thundercracks, while “God’s Mercy” is a tender, acoustic death ballad with a
sinner’s quietly spiritual yearning. “Linen for the Orphan” crackles as a
spooked-out dose of punk-boogie bliss worthy of the Cramps and Violent Femmes
complete with dizzying, crying baby wails, while everything comes to a close on
“Reunion,” a jangly, stomp rock nugget of hooky goodness that calls to mind
both Stinson’s Mats and the sweet-sad perfection of Big Star.
Throughout all of Boy
in a Well, though, there’s one band and one band only writing these songs
and bashing and popping out this wealth of rock and roll delirium: The Yawpers.
Turn it up and start paying attention. This stuff is the real deal.
Boy
in a Well is available now (released August 18, 2017) via Bloodshot Records.
