Short Reviews [Yowie - 2017 - "Synchromysticism"]

5 songs, 33 minutes in length, a drummer and two guitarists who are combining to create music which at best is difficult to listen to, jagged and uncompromising, yet Yowie’s third album is simply inspired. Between their 2012 album ‘Damning With Faint Praise’ there has been a line-up change in that Jeremiah Wonsewitz (guitar) and Defenestrator (drums) have said goodbye to guitarist Sr. (H), jb and we now have Christopher Trull, but in terms of music there has been little change. One can hear why there is always a gap between albums (their debut was released in 2004 and there has been nothing since this one), as this is music which is hard to listen to and must be devilishly difficult to play. Unlike many RIO/avant artists it is obvious that this has been highly practiced and rehearsed to ensure the complexity all knits together in a way which would be possible if they were just working off each other. I am convinced this is a live in the studio recording, just that everyone knew their parts beforehand, containing elements more normally associated with mathcore but never sounding quite like this. There is little in the way of melody or repeated riffs as they never stop moving forwards and not looking back at what has come before, each of the trio being integral to everything which is taking place on an album which is pure Marmite: the listener will either love or hate this, there is no in-between. It is avant music for those who enjoy avant, pushing the boundaries ever further, which is never meant to be warm, fluffy and consoling but instead wants the listener to always be on edge with no idea what is coming next as there is no logical movement from one place to another. This is music the band are driven to make, as there is never going to be any money in this, as even many hardened prog fans will find this just too progressive and “out there” for them. However, for those of us who find there is something welcoming in that very harsh musical landscape then this is something which may not be inviting but is certainly challenging and exciting.