Humor in music was an acquired taste for me. While many of my friends fawned over the likes of Frank Zappa and Ween, I had difficulty understanding their appeal at first despite acknowledging that both are exceptionally talented. Whether it’s Zappa’s infamous “Black Page #1” or Ween’s never-ending quest for the “brown sound,” both artists injected humor into their music and not just as it concerns the lyrical content. While it may not be as overt or intentional, long-running St. Louis outfit Yowie similarly employs humor as part of their instrumental math music. Indeed, it's easy to imagine Taking Ubridge as the soundtrack to a hilariously chaotic and demented cartoon, that asks “What would it be like to take the multitude sound effects used to score crashes, bangs, splats, and zaps, and transpose them into music?”
Following the departure of guitarists Chris Trull and Jeremy Wonsewitz in 2018, lone original Yowie member Shawn “Defenstrator” O’Connor recruited bassist Daniel Kennedy (Cleric, John Zorn) and guitarist Jack Tickner (Basil’s Kite). Considering how crucial original member Wonsewitz was to Yowie’s sound, some longtime fans might grimace at the prospect of a new Yowie album without him. But rest assured that Kennedy and Tickner seamlessly continue Yowie’s quirky and intricate take on math rock. The band have been writing incomprehensibly dense instrumental music for the better part of a quarter century now. Yet, while most bands playing such complex music would have slowed down by now and started writing simpler and more accessible tunes, Yowie continues to push themselves and the patience of listeners by offering their longest album to date.
What makes Yowie’s take on math rock so zany to the extent that it is comical is how untamed yet complex their music is. Considering that most bands that make technical wizardry a focal point aren’t nearly as wacky, much of Yowie’s silliness comes down to the techniques they employ. Rather than rely on unusual effect pedals or post-production tricks, Yowie employs comically out-of-tune bends, dramatic and swift slides, alternately warbling and churning bass lines, and a plethora of unexpected rhythmical changes. The fourth minute of album closer “The Road to Gumbone” is a perfect encapsulation of these techniques. During that minute they are all on display simultaneously, variously sounding as if they could be the soundtrack to a piano falling down stairs, a mouse tip-toeing across the floor, or a gurgling upset stomach.
Even for seasoned math rock fans, Yowie’s Taking Umbrage isn’t for everyone. That's not to say Yowie’s music is meticulously composed, despite all its madcap antics. The obsessive attention to detail is clear within any five-second span of music throughout the album’s running time. If you’re willing to give in to the band’s characteristic cartoonish controlled chaos, you will be rewarded by the aural equivalent of a safe full of gold falling on your head.