German heavy psychedelic rockers Yagow release their second album, The Mess, June 18 on Crazysane Records. The trio issued their self-titled debut (review here) in 2017 and thereby served effective notice of their weirdo intentions, the record’s molten freakery laid back but still out-there in the cosmic sense. The kids — all of whom are over 30 — might call it neo-psych, but the wretched truth is there’s no such thing. It’s all just psych. Heavy psych, in this case. And Yagow deliver seven thrillers in that regard across their sophomore foray, blown out and rolling every which way as it is while still remaining cohesive in its approach — they didn’t call it The Mess because their songs are any sloppier than they want them to be — pushing speedier feedback-and-organ-laced vibes in “Tres Calaveras,” while the earlier opening title-track pairs sitar sounds and fuzz guitar in classic fashion, pushing toward space rock without breaking the motorik light barrier, and the subsequent “Doomed to Fail” reverbs in such a manner as to evoke the US Pacific Coast. If they were from Palm Springs and not Saarbrücken, you’d call it desert rock and be just as right.

That latter, second cut, comes tailed by the immediate low-end tension of “Rise and Shine,” for which Yagow are premiering a video below — how about that? You can hear some holdover tonal spaciousness in there for sure, and “Rise and Shine” pairs that with nod-ready tom work and a deceptively solidified verse setting up a shift into a hook peppered with ’60s organ shimmer before being shoved to a rousing finish. That moves into “Bloom,” with a purposefully emptier-feeling verse and looser swing — too humble to swagger, but too dead-on in the bass distortion to be called humble — and a build into a crescendo worthy of its place as The Mess‘ centerpiece. The aforementioned “Tres Calaveras,” presumably a leadoff for side B, answers with more straightforward galloping motion early and a bit of drift in its second half, almost tricking the listener into its immersion, but doing so with no malice in its intent. Kudos to guitarist/vocalist/noisemaker Jan Werner, bassist Kai Peifer and drummer Marc Schönwald on acknowledging their place in the universe on “Eclectic Electric,” the most outwardly engaging chorus on the record. It’s good to know, ultimately, that they realize that they’re weirdos too. Makes the whole thing easier, and, honestly, more fun to process.

Speaking of processing, the nine-minute closer and longest track on The Mess, “Getting Through: Is This Where the Magic Happens?” should be answered with a resounding yes. It should come as little surprise that the longer finale is jammier, fluid and open-feeling, but to their credit, Yagow don’t simply throw wide the door and let the track make its winding way into psychedelic oblivion. They hold onto it. They keep a cool head. They maintain. Sure they’re on an outbound passage into the echo-drenched ether with only their own tonality to keep them warm — should do the trick nicely — but that doesn’t mean one needs to completely forsake every semblance of structure. Yagow never give all the way into making a mess on The Mess. One wouldn’t call the album tidy, exactly, but the flow between and within tracks demonstrates the underlying focus of their execution, even when that focus is on blurring reality. Which, really, could use some blurring at this point.

And on that happy note, I’ll turn you over to the portrayal of base consumerism and ’90s home shopping that is the clip for “Rise and Shine,” inspired as it is. A quote from the band and album info/preorder links follow, all courtesy of the PR wire.

Enjoy:

Yagow, “Rise & Shine” official video premiere

Yagow on “Rise & Shine”:

The song is about the conscious or unconscious assumption of certain roles within our capitalist society that are expected from us and about how we have been socialised to adopt them and to perfect that facade. When Pascal and Tobi from Keine Zeit Medien came up with the idea to recreate a teleshopping program in the style of the ’90s for the first video single and to have every band member present a trashy product, we knew that this would go perfectly with the message of “Rise & Shine!” With the support of some friends who, in contrast to our amateur acting, turned out to be near-professional actors, the shoot was a lot of fun. And when Pascal, in his role as our hair model, said that he would be willing to do everything for the sake of art (“Mach mir einfach die Halbglatze!”), it was clear that the video was going to be killer! See for yourself!

The otherworldly sounds of psychedelic space-rock outfit Yagow take a new turn on their sophomore album The Mess. Combining the resonant riffing of The Black Angels and True Widow with the celebrant atmosphere of Dead Skeletons The Mess presents an eclectic mix of noise rock, psychedelic rock and stoner rock influences that continues in the vein of their self-titled debut album (released in 2017). However this time Yagow paint with a deeper warmer sonic palette that makes their intend more effective than before.

THE MESS (limited 12″, 180g heavyweight vinyl) will be released June 16th 2021 through crazysane records.

Pre-order the album here: http://crazysanerecords.com/

— Peacock Edition: white/orange/purple splatter (Ltd. to 150)
— Grimace Purple Edition (Ltd. to 150)
— Solid Black (Ltd. to 200)

THE MESS was recorded by Bob de Wit and Koen Verhees at Super Nova Studio, Eindhoven in October 2020. It was mixed by Dennis Juengel and mastered by Philipp Welsing. THE MESS is released through crazysane records.

Yagow are:
Marc Schönwald (Drums, Percussion)
Kai Peifer (Bass)
Jan Werner (Vocals, Guitars, Drones)

All Songs written by Yagow

Guest Musician:
Bram van Zuijlen (Synthesizer, Organ, Saloon Piano)

Yagow on Thee Facebooks

Yagow on Instagram

Yagow on Bandcamp

Yagow website

Yagow preorder at Crazysane Records

Crazysane Records on Thee Facebooks

Grainy VHS sci-fi footage, rocket boosters at full thrust, shots of space in all its practical-effects vastness mixed in with astronauts in various stages of trial and experimentation? Yup, that sounds about right for the kind of trippery Yagow proffer in the five-minute “Time to Get Rid of It.” The song comes from the German trio’s upcoming self-titled debut (review here), which is out June 16 on Crazysane Records, and the found material that makes up the clip for “Time to Get Rid of It” coalesces fluidly around the molten, cosmos-gazing rhythm of the track itself, resulting in a multi-sensory package that’s easy to digest and seems only to lead the listener from chill to chill over the course of its relatively brief but hypnotic five minutes.

And that’s pretty much the story of the thing. One of the major strengths of Yagow‘s Yagow is the firm confidence with which it advises those who’d take it on to strap themselves in and get ready for the outward ride that is about to and in fact does ensue. That kind of command is pretty rare in groups with such a lysergic focus, but Yagow treat it almost as an afterthought, and as they move forward one will be interested to hear how the underlying shuffle of a track like “Time to Get Rid of It” and its crafted hook wind up being treated as a stage in the development of the band. That is to say, I look forward to finding out in the longer term how nascent Yagow is as an album and where the trio might go in terms of sound and aesthetic in following it up.

But they should probably release it first. Once again, June 16 is the date for that, so keep an eye out. And while you’ve got your eye out, you can dig into the “Time to Get Rid of It” video below.

Please enjoy:

Yagow, “Time to Get Rid of It” official video

Video by Daniel Fuchs & Manuel Wesely

YAGOW is a psych-space-rock trio based in Saarbruecken, Germany. Loud guitars, drones and ghost-like vocals build up other-wordly soundscapes reminiscent of 70s avantgarde acts and the shoegazing sounds of the past decades.

Pressing Info:
Limited to 300 copies on black 12″ vinyl
Screenprinted PVC overbag (kinegram effect)
Neon-printed LP cover

Yagow is:
Marc Schönwald: Drums, Percussion
Kai Peifer: Bass on ‘non-contractual’
Jan Werner: Vocals, Guitars, Drones
Axel Rothhaar: Bass

Yagow on Thee Facebooks

Yagow website

Yagow preorder at Crazysane Records

Crazysane Records on Thee Facebooks

Click Here to Download

Yes! A new podcast! Are you stoked? I’m stoked. If you’re not, you will be when you look at the list of bands included. In any case, let’s be stoked together, because rock and roll, and heavy psych and good music and, well, yeah. That’s pretty much stuff to be stoked about. It’s been absurdly long since the last time we did one of these. Too long. I don’t really have an excuse other than… gainful employment? Don’t worry, though. That’ll be over soon enough. Then it’ll be podcasts out the ass.

There’s some killer goods here though. Yeah, I decided to do a “Yeti” double-shot with Green Yeti into Telekinetic Yeti. That’s my version of me being clever. But both bands are righteous, and if you haven’t heard the Savanah record, or that new Tia Carrera jam, or the Cachemira or Big Kizz or Yagow or Vokonis or the Elder — oh hell, frickin’ all of it — it’s worth your time. That Emil Amos track just premiered the other day and I think will surprise a lot of people, and I liked the way it paired with the dark neofolk of Hermitess. And of course we get trippy in the second hour, as is the custom around here. But first a moment of prog clarity from the aforementioned Elder. That’s a good time as well.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Track details follow:

First Hour:

0:00:00 Vokonis, “The Sunken Djinn” from The Sunken Djinn
0:06:47 Tia Carrera, “Laid Back (Frontside Rock ‘n’ Roll)” from Laid Back (Frontside Rock ‘n’ Roll)
0:16:33 Supersonic Blues, “Supersonic Blues Theme” from Supersonic Blues Theme / Curses on My Soul
0:19:28 Emil Amos, “Elements Cycling” from Filmmusik
0:22:28 Hermitess, “Blood Moon” from Hermitess
0:26:24 Savanah, “Mind” from The Healer
0:34:22 Yagow, “Non-Contractual” from Yagow
0:42:35 Big Kizz, “Eye on You” from Eye on You
0:45:53 Cachemira, “Jungla” from Jungla
0:52:05 Green Yeti, “Black Planets (Part 2)” from Desert Show
0:58:02 Telekinetic Yeti, “Stoned and Feathered” from Abominable

Second Hour:

1:02:10 Elder, “The Falling Veil” from Reflections of a Floating World
1:13:20 Riff Fist, “King Tide” from King Tide
1:24:15 Cavra, “Montaña” from Cavra
1:39:18 Causa Sui, “A Love Supreme” from Live in Copenhagen

Total running time: 1:55:53

Thank you for listening.

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[Click play above to stream ‘Snake Charmer’ from the self-titled Yagow LP, out June 16 on Crazysane Records and available to preorder here.]

An overarching feel of lysergic serenity would seem to be the means to its own end on Yagow‘s self-titled debut, which is to say that the six-song first outing from the Saarbrücken, Germany, three-piece sets for its primary goal the very wash it uses to meet that goal. It is an exploration of vibe and mood, space-gazing through its 42-minute stretch propelled by unknown fuels. Recorded by the band — guitarist/vocalist/noisemaker Jan Werner, bassist Axel Rothhaar and drummer/percussionist Marc Schönwald with Kai Peifer (who also mixed, along with Werner and Berni Götz, who also mastered) on bass for side B’s “Non-Contractual” — and issued through Crazysane Records, Yagow‘s tuned-in headspaces should feel familiar to those who’ve worshiped at the altars of The Heads or Loop but they seem interested in casting their own melodic identity as well in these tracks.

One can hear this in the organ-style sounds of opener and longest track (immediate points) “Horsehead Nebula” or the sitar of the subsequent “Snake Charmer,” buried in the mix though it is, and the result is an outing of headphone-worthy depth that comes across as honest in its intentions and likewise assured in how to meet the goals it has set. Songs play out one into the next with a patient fluidity and perhaps a budding sense of nuance, and it seems that the only thing Yagow don’t leave room for in the album’s span is pretense. This is head music for a head audience. It’s not trying to say anything it doesn’t want to say and it’s not trying to be anything it isn’t. Listeners can either sign up for the journey or miss out on the trip that ensues.

For what it’s worth, the band makes a pretty compelling argument toward the former. While remaining up-front in their purposes and playing by the rules of vinyl modernity by splitting Yagow neatly in half, three cuts to a side, they nonetheless execute a classic psychedelic vibe — not necessarily playing to influences from the ’60s or ’70s, but certainly aware of those roots. Each song in the record’s first half — “Horsehead Nebula,” “Snake Charmer” and “Moss and Mint” — has something to stand it out from its compatriots, whether it’s the aforementioned melody and sitar of the opener and its follow-up or the return of that particularly blissful tone that either could be keys or could be guitar effects on “Moss and Mint,” coming on more languid the second time around and allowing the three-piece to convey an overarching flow as well as distinguish the individual from its surroundings. “Oh yeah, that’s the song where that happens,” and so on.

Whether this is done consciously or not on the part of the band — one doesn’t want to assume either way, and this material almost certainly has its beginnings in jams either improvised or led by one member or another — is secondary compared to the effect it has on the overall listening experience, which, when taken front to back, proves duly consuming and switched-on in its overall affect. As Werner‘s vocals drawl out amid the wash of “Moss and Mint” after the more winding space-charged fuzz of “Snake Charmer,” there’s some subtlety to be found for those who’d pay repeat visits to Yagow‘s psychedelic palace, but even if the album splits in half, it’s more about the entirety of the thing than any one song, or even part. And that’s not to its detriment in the slightest.

Rather, as side B starts with the more blown-out low end tonality of “Time to Get Rid of It,” that subtlety only turns out to make the offering richer on the whole. Atop a steady rhythm, vocals echo out and another distorted wash is conjured, and truth be told, Yagow have by this time set their methods forward for their audience. There’s little they do across the second half of their debut to deviate, but they do successfully build on what they’ve already accomplished sound-wise, which seems more important than it would be for them to present some radical shift. “Time to Get Rid of It” drifts into and through a section of vocals over chimes before Schönwald‘s drums resume their push into the song’s final third, and the eight-minute “Non-Contractual” makes its first impression with drums as well building to a trade of tension and release across its span that reminds a bit of a less folkish Quest for Fire, and toys with momentum in a manner that it seems a lot of the prior material avoided in favor of worshiping more ethereal atmospheres.

Perhaps in part because it’s longer — one might consider it a companion piece for the opener, as it also tops eight minutes — and perhaps in part because of the droning resonance that lays underneath a goodly portion of its stretch, “Non-Contractual” feels more expansive, especially in its back-half jam, with an element of vibrancy that serves it well leading into closer “Nude on the Moon Dance,” which echoes and reinforces the ringing tones of “Horsehead Nebula” and “Moss and Mint” as well as the thrusters-engaged forward rhythm of the latter portion of “Snake Charmer,” all while feeling a little less hinged in a way that speaks to the real potential of the band to let loose a little and break some of the rules they’ve set for themselves here.

It’s worth remembering, and important to remember, that while they’ve been around for a few years (their social media presence starts at 2013, if that’s any measure) this self-titled is their first collective outing, and ultimately it’s to their credit that one hears a song like “Time to Get Rid of It” and waits for Yagow to expand on what they presented in the album’s first half — because it means they’ve done their job in establishing their core sound. And so they have. The work before them now as they move from one liquefied slab onto the inevitable next should be in furthering the lightly progressive undertones delivered here. Maybe that’s in building on the arrangement flourish of “Snake Charmer” or in being willing to dive deeper into the off-the-cuff feel of “Non-Contractual” and “Nude on the Moon Dance” — I don’t know. It will be their songwriting that makes that decision in the end, but what matters for the time being is the foundation they’ve given themselves on which to build, which feels flexible enough to accommodate any range of directions they might want to take.

Yagow on Thee Facebooks

Yagow website

Yagow preorder at Crazysane Records

Crazysane Records on Thee Facebooks