Denver’s ballistic punk blues-rock trio, The Yawpers have announced the follow-up to 2017’s acclaimed Boy in a Well. Slated to arrive April 19, the hometown boys will return with Human Question, and they’ve dropped a new single, “Child of Mercy” to lead off the project. It wouldn’t be a new Yawper’s album without a Denver release party, and the guys are already a step ahead, laying the groundwork for their official album release show on April 26, at the Oriental Theatre.
The Yawpers released their concept album Boy in a Well in 2017, circling around the premise of a tragedy set in World War I whereby a mother has abandoned her newborn child. The album received good reviews all around and a particularly great accolade from Pitchfork.
“There’s something lofty and worthwhile in the lowly rock’n’roll mudpit [The Yawpers] wallow in, something compelling in their mix of gutbucket rockabilly and psychotic blues, which allows them to transcend the practiced chaos of Deer Tick and O’Death and so many other bands who insist that they rock more than they actually rock.”
Looking forward to the forthcoming Human Question, The Yawpers took a different approach — moving away from the idea of a concept album and instead instilling the album with a thrilling immediacy. In fact, the band even changed the way they recorded the new project, tracking live in one room and feeding off their collective energy while adding few overdubs. Speaking on the new approach, lead singer and guitarist Nate Cook saw the sessions as a means for therapy.
“I wanted to take a crack at using these songs as therapy, really. I think I’ve always been inclined to write more towards the dregs of my psyche, and explore my depressions and trauma, rather than describe a way out.”
Tickets for the upcoming album release at the Oriental Theatre (4335 W 44th Ave., Denver, 80212) are on sale here.
See the full tour dates below:
| 2/19 | Belly Up | Aspen | CO | US |
| 3/13 until 16 | SXSW | Austin | TX | US |
| 4/16 | Record Bar | Kansas City | MO | US |
| 4/17 | Off Broadway | St. Louis | MO | US |
| 4/18 | The Cooperage | Milwaukee | WI | US |
| 4/19 | Liar’s Club | Chicago | IL | US |
| 4/20 | Showboat Saloon | Wisconsin Dells | WI | US |
| 4/21 | 7th St Entry | Minneapolis | MN | US |
| 4/26 | Oriental Theater | Denver | CO | US |
| 4/27 | Wheelhouse | Albuquerque | NM | US |
| 4/29 | Sundown Tavern | Ruston | LA | US |
| 5/1 | Smith’s Old Bar | Atlanta | GA | US |
| 5/2 | The Radio Room | Greensville | SC | US |
| 5/3 | Local 506 | Chapel Hill | NC | US |
| 5/4 | Pearl Street Warehouse | Washington | DC | US |
| 5/5 | Berlin | New York | NY | US |
| 5/7 | Beachland Ballroom | Cleveland | OH | US |
| 5/8 | MOTR Pub | Cincinnati | OH | US |
| 5/9 | The Basement | Nashville | TN | US |
| 5/10 | Stickyz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack | Little Rock | AR | US |
| 5/11 | Mercury Lounge | Tulsa | OK | US |
| 5/25 | Borderline | London | UK | |
| 5/26 | Broadcast | Glasgow | UK | |
| 5/27 | O Rileys | Hull | UK | |
| 5/28 | The Donkey | Leicester | UK | |
| 5/29 | Burston Crown | Diss | UK | |
| 5/30 | Mijl Op Zeven Festival | Ospel | NL | |
| 6/1 | Q-Factory | Amsterdam | NL | |
| 6/5 | Vera | Groningen | NL | |
| 6/6 | Nochtspeicher | Hamburg | DE | |
| 6/7 | Orange Blossom Special Festival | Beverungen | DE | |
| 6/7 | Orange Blossom Special Festival | Beverungen | DE | |
| 6/8 | Beatpol | Dresden | DE | |
| 6/9 | Monarch | Berlin | DE | |
| 6/11 | Ziegel Oh Lac | Zurich | CH | |
| 6/12 | Sunny Red | Munich | DE | |
| 6/13 | Substage Caf_ | Karlsruhe | DE | |
| 6/14 | KKF Bar | Schwabisch Gmund | DE | |
| 6/15 | In Die Musik Festival | Hof | DE | |
| 6/16 | Manana Manana | Hummelo | NL | |
| 6/28 | Raut Oak Fest | Riegsee | DE | |
| 6/29 | Brotfabrik | Frankfurt | DE | |
| 6/30 | Muddy Roots Europe | Waardamme | BE | |
| 7/24 | FloydFest | Floyd | VA | US |