Yawning Sons - Ceremony to the Sunset (2009)

The band known as Yawning Sons is the result of a unique collaboration. Californian desertrock veteran Gary Arce (YAWNING MAN/TEN EAST/FATSO JETSON/DARK TOOTH ENCOUNTER etc.) was flown out to the UK to produce an album by the Kentbased instrumental riff-rock quartet, SONS OF ALPHA CENTAURI. Upon the first day of working in the studio, it was clear that a new direction was to be taken: Gary and the band would work together and write and record their own collaborative album within the space of a week. The weeks work bore fruit in the form of seven incredible instrumental tracks whose sound was caught somewhere in the musical netherworlds of Yawning Man, Sonic Youth, Can and early Pink Floyd. Over the course of the next few months, more additions were made to the recording, including extra guitar overdubs from Arce, as well as vocals from Scott Reeder (KYUSS/OBSESSED), Mario Lalli (FATSO JETSON) and Wendy Rae Fowler (MARK LANEGAN BAND/UNKLE/EARTHLINGS?). The results are sublime. From the soaring vocals of Fowler on the opener, `Ghostship - Deadwater`, which has the fuzz n sheen of Loveless-period MBV, to the drone-laden vocals of Reeder on `Garden Sessions III`, which is like a blend of More-period Floyd and 80s Meat Puppets, through to the extended guitar workouts on the Lalli-helmed `Meadows`, right on through to the chiming guitars and metronomic drums on the closer, `Japanese Garden`, Ceremony To The Sunset will prove to be a revelation to fans of any and every of the artists involved, and will appeal greatly to lovers of Kraut/psych/desert-rock.