Pavement Ends, which is upwards of the seventh Yawning Man album, will be released through Heavy Psych Sounds on Nov. 14. There was a time, about 20 years ago, after they put out Rock Formations (review here), when the band seemed to exist mostly in legend. They were the (again, mostly) absent progenitors of desert rock, obscure even in the recesses of the genre to which, sound-wise, they’ve always only tangentially belonged, defining the thing and standing apart from it in sound and instrumentalist purpose just the same.

In 2010, Nomadic Pursuits (discussed here, review here) brought them new attention from a new generation of listeners, and though it was six years later and a departure in terms of lineup configuration and arrangement, their third album, Historical Graffiti (review here), began the most active and productive stretch of their 40-plus-year tenure. Counting that 2016 outing, Pavement Ends is the fifth Yawning Man long-player in the last decade. There is a part of my brain to which this remains unfathomable.

Understand, that’s not a complaint, and not the least because Pavement Ends emphasizes the element of change and amorphousness that’s always been part of Yawning Man‘s makeup. Lineups are malleable around founding guitarist Gary Arce (also SoftSun, Ten East, Big Scenic Nowhere and a number of others), and founding bassist Mario Lalli (also Fatso Jetson, The Rubber Snakecharmers, etc.) comes and goes as one will, but Yawning Man have continuously developed a sound that’s among the most readily identifiable in desert rock and unlike most anything else in the genre.

Something else they deserve credit for is being decades ahead of their time in courting a post-rock influence in a heavier context, but there are only so many hours in the day for general plaudits when the band are still evolving, still changing shape and configuration, and still exploring a landscape that they’ve come to make feel likewise infinite and warm on the nine-minute penultimate title-track to this six-song/37-minute outing. Listeners of long standing will find Arce‘s signature spaciousness of tone well intact, his airy melodies complemented by Lalli‘s outreach of bass and drummer Bill Stinson‘s dug-in fluidity, able to bring a sense of tension to the proceedings without derailing the meditative aspects.

All of which is to say, if you know Yawning Man, you’ll recognize them here. However, that doesn’t mean it’s all business as usual. “Burrito Power,” the opening track premiering below, has more tonal heft than I’ve ever heard from Yawning Man, including live. It holds a familiar echoing resonance, but is willfully slower than one expects it to be, mounting tension in the ‘verse’ that the subsequent ‘chorus’ — such as they are in an instrumental context — relieves in part with tambourine.

The track feels conceptual, is almost cinematic in the layering of its back half, and it is melancholic even as it soars. They calmly reprise the central riff to finish and the atmosphere is set. “Gestapo Pop,” which would seem to be a product of the times going by the title, continues the thread. It’s not as immediate, throw-you-into-the-lumber as “Burrito Power,” but it builds on the wistful wash of the opener and retains a moderated tempo. An ending of broad scope and residual melodic shimmer gives over to the slower procession of “Bomba Negra” at the presumed end of side A, rich in its flowing movement, hypnotic in its linearity, and gracefully immersive. The amplifier hum that finishes it is brought to a quick fade.

And followed soon by a smack of bass from Lalli at the outset of “Dust Suppression.” Perhaps intended to mirror “Burrito Power,” “Dust Suppression” begins the second half of Pavement Ends with its heaviest impression. It’s also the shortest track on the album at 4:28, followed by the longest on its side (also the longest on the album) in “Pavement Ends” with closer “Bad Time to Be Alive” rounding out over the seven-minute mark.

The closing pair are a movement unto themselves, as regards the record as a whole, but more of an extrapolation from what comes before them than a departure, and holding firm to the band’s characteristic melodic sweetness in following the relatively weighted lumber of “Dust Suppression.” “Pavement Ends” puts its cymbals forward and in combination with the guitar it’s almost blinding by the time they’re four minutes into the nine, but they hold firm to their purpose and bring it down and redirect before too long. Might that be the point where the dirt road starts? Like Doc Brown, where they’re going, they don’t need roads, and Yawning Man have never been shy about bringing a sense of meander to their work, even as the shape of that work has continued to change over time.

That there are seemingly so many reasons a band might name a song “Bad Time to Be Alive” is no less a reflection of the era we’re in than “Gestapo Pop.” Yawning Man have toured the world over as ambassadors of the California desert landscape and the sound that emerged from it, and there’s no faster way to get sad these days than to have any perspective whatsoever on what’s going on around you, particularly in the States. But if Yawning Man are using reality as a backdrop to this material, that becomes part of the character of the material, and somehow it gets way easier to pretend the days are less horrifying and wretched when Arce, Lalli and Stinson are spacing out as they do as the finale slowly shifts into its comedown.

I think that means Pavement Ends is comforting, or at least offering comfort by also seeking it, and the expressive nature of Yawning Man‘s work has never been so palpable. While not purely depressive, neither are these songs only about escapism. There’s catharsis in them in a way that feels new for Yawning Man, and that reminds of how special and singular their progression, exploration, realization, is. One hopes they have a different moment to greet next time out, but the room they make for their audience across Pavement Ends shouldn’t be understated. They are a treasure of the underground.

“Burrito Power” premieres on the player below, followed by more details about the recording and art from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Yawning Man, “Burrito Power” premiere

Preorder link: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS372

Yawning Man return to the studio in 2025 with founding members Gary Arce and Mario Lalli with Bill Stinson.

The new album on Heavy Psych Sounds Records “Pavement Ends” marks Arce and Lalli returning to a collaboration off the beaten path on some of the band’s darkest and heaviest themes. Drenched in sonic tension and release, bleak and beautiful.

The first track released titled “Bomba Negra” digs deep in the emotional undertow of Yawning Man’s unique approach to rock music.

The cover painting is the bands first collaboration with Joshua Tree artist Diane Bennett.

Tracklisting:
1. Burrito Power
2. Gestapo Pop
3. Bomba Negra
4. Dust Suppression
5. Pavement Ends
6. Bad Day To Be Alive

Recorded June 2025 at Gatos Trail Studio, Yucca Valley CA.
Engineered by Dan Joeright
Mixed and Co-produced by Mike Shear
All music by Yawning Man (Arce, Lalli, Stinson)
Front Cover Painting by Dianne Bennett
Back Cover art & album layout by Mario Lalli

Yawning Man:
Gary Arce – Guitars
Bill Stinson – Drums
Mario Lalli – Bass

Yawning Man website

Yawning Man on Bandcamp

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Yawning Man on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

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Tags: California, Heavy Psych Sounds, Palm Springs, Pavement Ends, Yawning Man, Yawning Man Pavement Ends

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025 at 6:49 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.