Andrews, John & The Yawns

Andrews, John & The Yawns

Love For The Underdog

Woodsist

John Andrews is something of an open secret in a certain corner of the music scene: a versatile musician and animator. A film school drop out whose work hat-tips tradition as much as outsider anti-aesthetics. He’s spent over a decade on the DIY circuit, playing early house shows alongside then up-and-coming peers Weyes Blood and Daniel Bachman. Today he is still out there projecting his sketchy hand-drawn animations during his performances in coffee shops, small galleries and non-traditional venues. Andrews’ painterly approach now introduces the listener to his version of New York City, the place he was bound to end up after years of dwelling in Pennsylvania farm towns and New Hampshire barns. There is handmade vibrancy to the world he’s imagined here: intimate moments seen from the interior, looking outward from hole-in-the-wall restaurants, theaters and the fragments of peace found within the restless and dirty street corners. Love For The Underdog, his aptly titled fourth release with the Woodsist label, was tracked live to tape in various studios and apartments across the Empire State with help from his bandmates in Cut Worms’ touring outfit, Max Clarke, Keven Lareau and Noah Bond. Buoyant melodies are supported by timeless string arrangements, translated from Andrews’ head to page with the help of friend Simon Hanes. The string quartet follows the tradition of Francoise Hardy, Harry Nilsson, Margo Guryan and Belle and Sebastian, giving the whole thing a cinematic ambience with stark shadows of an Edward Hopper painting. The lyrics tie together narratives...

Andrews, John & The Yawns

Cookbook

Woodsist

“John Andrews is picking flowers from each corner of his life and presenting you with an unusual bouquet. His imaginary band ‘The Yawns’ are back! Third time’s a charm. In hockey terms, they call it a ‘hat trick’ and you know who’s always wearing a ratty old hat? John Andrews. Three years in the making and we have Cookbook, the third, and most colorful record from your favorite New Hampshire based craftsman. “Unknowing folks usually assume he lives in New York City or Los Angeles but confer with John for five minutes and if he’s in the right mood he’ll talk your ear off about the granite state and the old, seedy colonial barn where he’s tracked his records with his weird and wonderful friends. “Take a listen to his previous effort, 2017’s Bad Posture. It was the grassroot slacker’s pie in the sky. His head was stuck in the past. He probably excessively listened to ‘Cripple Creek Ferry’ and he most likely wasn’t keeping up with household chores. Time moves on, but just look at him now! All grown up yet likely still feeling those growing pains. After a few more years of traveling we now have Cookbook, fresh out the oven…phew! About nine or ten new tracks, but who’s really counting? “The lyrics are simple and endearing, inspired by mid-century love songs. His inspirations are all across the board. If his subconscious was a bootleg taper, life would be the show. “At any rate, it doesn’t sound like...

Andrews, John & The Yawns

Bad Posture

Woodsist

***BACK IN PRINT ON NEW GREEN VINYL!!! Note price change. Throughout years of traveling, John Andrews has documented his life with his home recordings. His first record, Bit By The Fang, found him living in the amish country of Lancaster, PA. On his latest record, Bad Posture, he waves farewell to Pennsylvania and greets the wooded hills of Barrington, NH. These songs were written slowly and quietly throughout the winter, usually late at night next to the wood stove. It was recorded in Andrews’ barn with the doors ajar, welcoming the springtime — inviting the outside noises in. You can hear the crickets chirping and the occasional truck driving by. The songs themselves lend their hand like slow backwoods Beatles demos covered in a thin blanket of tape hiss. Andrews’ band, The Yawns, has been crystallized with staples from the New England freak scene: Rachel Neveu and Lukas Goudreault (MMOSS / Soft Eyes) and Joey Schneider. The album was mixed with headphones at the foot of Emma Critchett’s grave, who lived in the Yawns’ house during the 1800s. The record is an ode to her and all who have lived there. It paints a picture of living in the “freecountry” on the precipice of a rapidly changing political climate.

Andrews, John & The Yawns

Bit By The Fang

Woodsist

“Bit by the Fang is the first solo album from singer / songwriter John Andrews and his imaginary backup band The Yawns. Andrews began recording the album in 2013 while working at a Salvation Army in the Amish country of Lancaster, PA, his home at the time. As the new year rolled around, he followed a demanding schedule of writing, recording and touring with both Quilt (drums) and Woods (keys). It wasn’t until a well-earned break that he found the time and energy to complete the solo record he started months before. He recounts the difficulties involved: ‘Traveling so much caused my whole living scenario in PA to kind of fall apart,’ he tells, lamenting over the comfort only home can provide. As he moved back to his hometown of Yardville, NJ, he set up camp in his grandparents’ empty living room to record and perform everything entirely by himself once again.  “Warm acoustic guitars, honky-tonk piano, lap steel, singing saw and fluttering violins all sing together on this well crafted, yet comfortingly sloppy, psych-country / R&B record. A self-taught piano player, Andrews maneuvers with the precision of a player well beyond his years. Lyrically and stylistically he tackles the subject of death with the lightheartedness of a Saturday morning cartoon in ‘”I’ll Go to Your Funeral (If You Go to Mine).’ It’s hard not to conjure comparisons to Michael Hurley, Daniel Johnston or Kevin Ayers. This album is a great introduction to the grandiose fables of characters at...