Enjoyable southern rock release with lyrics that focus on the positive.
Formed in Brooklyn at the end of 2006, but now based in North Carolina, Yarn tend to lean towards the southern rock element of americana. The band started with a weekly Monday night residency at Kenny’s Castaways on Bleecker Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, a place that previously hosted up-and-coming local acts such as Patti Smith, the New York Dolls, and Bruce Springsteen.
Although it has changed at times during the band’s 20-year existence, Yarn’s line-up is, band founding member, songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Blake Christiana (also co-producer), a rhythm section of bass player Rick Bugel and Robert Bonhomme on drums and, completing the line-up is Andy Thomas on lead guitar and vocals.
Saturday Night Sermon was recorded at The Pinebox, Boonton Township, NJ, a studio belonging to co-producer Damian Calcagne, it’s located in an outbuilding of Calcagne’s place; a place that at one time belonged to legendary funk musician and producer George Clinton.
It’s clear where the band’s influences come from; we’re talking The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd (if you like Skynyrd’s output, then you should check out Yarn’s song Play Freebird from 2024’s long player Born Blessed Grateful & Alive), Van Morrison and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Yarn’s first two albums were recorded acoustically, drawing suggestions that they were a bluegrass band. However, subsequent releases have disproved that, and Yarn is now into double digits in terms of LP releases.
The record opens with its title track, which is short, at 1 minute and 48 seconds. Starting slowly, this builds to a stirring crescendo of wailing guitars and a gospel choir. Lyrically, it begins with “It’s Saturday night in this carnival called life, and we’ve got us a sermon to sing, We’ll touch on the good times, the laughter, the joy, and the pain it all often brings, The heartache, death and change“. As the last note fades, we’re straight into Let the Universe, which has a guitar line that reminds you of the Bob Dylan song You Ain’t Going Nowhere (first recorded by The Byrds in 1968). Featuring some great guitar work from Thomas, in particular the solo, this has a very positive feel to it. The chorus goes “Let the universe smile on you, Provide for you, Take away all your fear from you, And its light will find you a brighter day“. Once again, there’s that gospel choir adding considerable weight to the proceedings.
Good Things is perhaps the LP’s standout cut, featuring chunky guitar riffing from Christiana and Thomas, B3 organ and horns (sax, trombone and trumpet). This is another song that builds and includes a long instrumental outro, with twin guitars wailing and horns rasping. While Where We Land showcases Heather Hannah on backing vocals. This is a ballad, with Calcagne’s B3 and Thomas’ guitar to the fore. Johnny Grub replaces Bugel on bass for this track.
Longshot introduces Aisha Kenyetta on backing vocals. This is a straight-ahead, mid-tempo southern rock song. Then, on Good Day, Heather Hannah returns to handle the backing vocals, and there’s a return of the horns and the gospel choir. With the melody for the verses in particular being somewhat reminiscent of the traditional song Railroad Worksong from the 1990s, Missing…Presumed Having a Good Time by The Notting Hillbillies, it’s a very positive, bright and cheerful song, with the chorus being particularly positive: “It’s gonna be a good day, We’re gonna have a good time, We’re doing it our way, And it’s gonna be just right“. At one point, the song slows right down until there’s a shout of “Church“, at which the tempo and style change completely.
Goodbye Cowgirl is a country-tinged song, with perhaps the least optimistic lyrics of the entire set, “I just gotta find…Me a home, Where cowgirls don’t roam“. Then we see a return of the gospel choir and the brass on Never Enough while Christiana sings “I ain’t here for a long time, I’m just looking for a good time, I never mean to hurt no one, I just gotta keep moving on down the line“.
Please offers something a little different sonically, sounding a little Tex-Mex in style. The B3 organ flourishes are very well suited to this arrangement. On this track, the line-up is augmented by Brock Butler on guitar.
This is a very positive record, with the lyrics full of optimism. The band has a full sound, with lots of layers to it, and Christiana sounds like Mark Knopfler vocally at times. Although there’s little here that’s especially groundbreaking, with lyrics in particular that can sound a little clichéd at times, there’s an awful lot to like, from the catchy tunes to the arrangements (the horns and the gospel choir really add value to the songs where they appear) and the playing. If you like your americana to be Southern-styled, then it’s likely you’ll find something to very much enjoy on this record.
