steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

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]