“There’s so much more I could say.”
’68 came out of the ashes of The Chariot and features Josh Scogin doing typical Josh Scogin things. Made up solely of himself and drummer Nikko Yamada, the band’s signature out of control style can break down walls. Returning for the fourth go-around after the solid Give One Take One, Yes, and… seeks to replicate that spark.
Dancing in a selfish act.
They’re all waiting for the chorus to drop.
Oh precious one,
An echo of a bright star.
Starting off with “With Distance Between“, which features a rather satisfying build towards, Yes, and… then places all of its singles in a straight line from tracks two to four. The first, “The Captains Sat”, seems like an appropriate choice as I could easily place in on either of the previous records. From the mix of yells breaking into southern-tinged riffs and short run time, it checks all the boxes. Of course, there lies the problem – the boxes are quite familiar to ’68 listeners.
No accolades but I do as I please,
If you take my risk then you take my reward.
“But you could kill them with the melody!”
Well, tell me something that I don’t know.
“Removed Their Hooks” sounds like it has a bit more urgency behind it. The drumming comes forward more often and does more interesting rhythms, especially after the halfway mark. The song splits apart leaving some static noise and a bell sound, then reforms with a nice sidewiding lead riff. Scogin sounds as good as ever in the last minute, especially at the “talked the whole way home” lyric.
And I can’t tell yet if I’m dead,
With the body just moving along.
I can’t make you understand,
But the blankest of the pages still wage.
“Removed Their Hats” goes a bit in the other direction, with an odd double-tracked effect on some vocals and plenty of feedback piped in. It also features a turn near the halfway mark, with a twangy guitar interlude that lasts just a bit too long before starting back into the song again. Different, for sure, but not effective and kind of saps the momentum this more driving track had.
After this run, you could pick out a few moments to talk about, like Scogin‘s inspired performance throughout “End This War”, especially on the far-away sounding chorus, complete with acoustic strums, then the siren-like riff at the short but memorable bridge section. “They All Agreed” is really the only melodic number here, which is a shame because ’68 excels in such moments. This one makes me think of the fantastic “What More Can I Say” in some respects and we deserve an album of these.
“Within The Hour, They Were No More” closes the album with one of the coolest motifs here. The song twice fades out behind the lyric “never fade out”, which sounds kitschy but works incredibly well and links back to the cyclical themes Yes, and… is built around.
Overall, this album serves to test the limits of this particular sound. While often effective and readily listenable, it does lack a certain sheen some previous work had. The overarching story told along with the song titles does work, and lyrically some moments hit quite squarely. In other times, they come across as moderately bland. The highlights are just that, but don’t expect an album full of them here.
6.5/10
’68 – Yes, and… comes out this Friday, September 29 on Pure Noise Records with pre-orders found here.