Listen to Rest by The Dreadful Yawns
The Dreadful Yawns
Rest
Album · Folk-Rock · 2007
Ben Gmetro and Dave Molnar might want to consider changing the name of their group. They excel at a smooth, quiet Americana that recalls late-‘60s Roger McGuinn circa The Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweethearts of the Rodeo but they’re needlessly arming critics with a name like the Dreadful Yawns. DY’s sleepy Midwestern vibe is anything but dreadful and any resulting yawns are the not the product of such affecting tunes. Besides, the definition of group here is pretty loose as well, with players coming and going as needed. This elasticity allows the tunes to be colored as best suited. So while a pedal steel perks things up for “When I Lost My Voice,” it’s cello, violins and an ensemble cast of backing vocalists that gently support the sing-songy sway of “Candles.” Solid organ and standard-issue twangy country licks back the Gram Parsons number “November Nights” but Parsons is a tough and stricter country act and neither Gmetro or Molnar have his vocal gifts. They’re best surfing the edges of purebred country, where a glint of instrumental psychedelia (“We Go Up”) can blur the attack into an attractive haze. 
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