Yambag: The Psycho 7"

Yambag: The Psycho 7" (Convulse Records) Here at Sorry State we’ve been in the tank for Cleveland’s Yambag since they started, and the 8 songs in 8 minutes on The Psycho aren’t doing anything to change that. Yambag has always sounded unique to me in how they work blastbeats into the old school USHC style; at their best (which is most of the time), they sound like Group Sex-era Circle Jerks partying with side B of Scum-era Napalm Death. While the riffs and vocals are as catchy as ever, what really stands out to me on The Psycho is how deft and memorable those trademark rhythmic change-ups are. Like the Circle Jerks, Yambag can make a choppy rhythm into a song’s central hook. Just check out the snare rolls in the verses of “Buried Alive” or the stops in the chorus of “Cult-ure;” it’s hard to imagine the songs without them, and those moments send the energy level through the roof. The fact that they’re also the first two songs means that The Psycho is a wildly careening ride, like one of those roller coasters that starts by jolting you immediately from a dead stop to top speed, throwing you into a maze of unexpected twists, turns, and rolls that never allow you to get your bearings. And then when the blasting parts hit, it’s like you’ve Kool Aid Man-ed through a brick wall and the rubble is raining down on you… but you love it! If you’ve been on the Yambag ride for a while, there’s no reason to get off now. If you haven’t checked them out and you like the fast shit, prepare to get leveled.