John Andrews & The Yawns

New Jersey-born multi-instrumentalist John Andrews worked with several bands before stepping out on his own with solo project John Andrews & the Yawns -- "the Yawns" being a fictional backing band at first, as Andrews played all the instruments on his debut. He did employ accompanists for his later albums, but his low-key and lo-fi pop vision changed very little once he had a band, with his murmured vocals and subtle, melodic keyboard work still his stylistic hallmarks. 2015's Bit by the Fang and 2017's Bad Posture were tuneful exercises in dreamlike indie pop, while 2021's Cookbook and 2023's Love for the Underdog tightened the focus on his '70s California soft rock influences.

John Andrews always worked on solo compositions, but he notably contributed drums to indie act <a href="spotify:artist:0S4yEUTvpxWhfXux925405">Quilt</a> and organ/keyboards to fuzzy folk-rockers <a href="spotify:artist:2sBPVEeMBXKNsZtYaJixnJ">Woods</a>. Being a full-time member of both these bands made it difficult to find time and space to complete his own recordings. Andrews began work on a debut album in 2013 when living in the remote Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Over the next several months, Andrews eventually decamped to his grandparents' New Jersey home, where he set up in their vacant living room and re-recorded the warm, <a href="spotify:artist:1SQRv42e4PjEYfPhS0Tk9E">Kinks</a>-informed roots pop songs that made up his 2015 debut, Bit by the Fang, which saw release on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Woodsist%22">Woodsist</a> label.

After relocating to a Colonial farmhouse in the woodland of Barrington, New Hampshire with musician friends, he went to work on his second album. Recorded on the property with housemates including Rachel Neveu of <a href="spotify:artist:728pTszDKtxAil9XWAwP12">Mmoss</a>, and Lukas Goudreault and Joey Schneider of Soft Eyes, Bad Posture followed in 2017, comprising more rootsy psych-pop. 2021's Cookbook saw Andrews paying more explicit homage to '70s soft rock, with the opening track, "New California Blue," written specifically to pay tribute to <a href="spotify:artist:5hW4L92KnC6dX9t7tYM4Ve">Joni Mitchell</a>. An album tracked live to tape across New York State with his <a href="spotify:artist:2upjmNmngAXZcra9dQRR2l">Cut Worms</a>' touring bandmates (Max Clarke, Noah Bond, and <a href="spotify:artist:0S4yEUTvpxWhfXux925405">Quilt</a>'s Keven Lareau), 2023's Love for the Underdog followed suit while adding a string quartet to its late-summer palette. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi