The Yawpers Bring Folk Rock with “American Man”

The Yawpers is a three-man group from Denver, Colorado whose American Man is a surreal mix of folk and rock sure to elicit emotion in the listener. What that emotion may be is hard to say, because the songs are so oddly unique.

In the video for “Doing It Right,” a man is tormented by derisive notes telling him to kill himself. He commits bloody suicide, falling forward off-camera and rising as a taller, more fit and confident-looking man. This man spends the rest of the video hunting down the tormentor, leaving blood and chaos in his wake as anyone guilty of any perceived slight by the seeker of justice begins spewing blood at the sight of him. The images are graphic and disturbing, made no less so by the chorus of “Doing It Right” screaming along. The “Doing It Right” video is definitely not for the faint of heart or for those who become sick at the sight of blood.

The title track begins slow and easy, a folksy harmonic singing of the hardships in America, though despite these troubles they still sing “Praise the Lord/I’m an American Man.” Twangy guitar opens “Burdens,” bringing to mind thoughts of the Deep South as they sing from the point of view of a teen eager to escape his Podunk town. In fact, each song seems to bring this reviewer back to the melting pot of her hometown in Northern Alabama with its folk-rock-metal sound; it hearkens to more than just one genre, one place, one time. Sounds from all over America join in harmony in this diverse yet cohesive album.