Yawn Temiseva
"Relax, I Have a Plan" CDEP
self-released
Genre: singer / songwriter
Toronto, ON
Jan 7, 2009 |
In this day of mp3s and Myspace, I really wonder what the market value
of a four-song EP is. But Yawn Temiseva, a Finland-born but
Toronto-raised singer/songwriter, has decided to go the old-school
route anyway. Despite making every attempt to pass "Yawn" as his real
name, he denotes his name under SOCAN as "J. Temiseva," which I'm
going to surmise might be "Janne."
As Temiseva explains in the press materials, all of Relax's four
songs are "thinking songs" (including a song actually titled "Thinking
Song"); they are hence garnished with sly worldplay and clever subject
matter. Opener "Learning Now," for example, features punchline after
punchline, tied together with a chiming acoustic folk vibe
- it is surprisingly infectious if a tad simplistic. Piano-led
"Big Box
Daddy," meanwhile, is the supposed speech of a retail conglomerate
executive making his case at a community meeting -
it's ultimately a clever concept, but
only the lyrics are memorable. The most successful song from a musical
perspective is the wistful "Practicalities," which has been adorned
with a rolling guitar melody that is surprisingly whistleable.
This is a solid EP from the singer/songwriter camp, boosted with
clever lyrics and some impressive hooks. Although still a little rough
around the edges - and perhaps in need of
some more complex song structures -
Relax, I Have a Plan proves Temiseva a mature and promising
songwriter.
yawn
temiseva's myspace
72%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 4 tracks, distributed by
the band,
released 2008] |