Yawners Premiere LA ESCALERA Music Video At NPR Ahead of SXSW

Last month, Madrid-based power pop duo Yawners announced their debut LP, Just Calm Down with the single "Please, Please, Please." A buoyant track that Flood Magazine compared to The Breeders and Sonic Youth while claiming that the band represent "everything good about '90s guitar rock," it created substantial buzz for the group who prior to its release were largely unknown outside their native Spain, earning praise on both sides of the Atlantic, and landing on best of the week lists for publications like DIY and Remezcla.

WATCH: Yawners' "La Escalera" video on NPR // YouTube

Today, the album's second single "La escalera" is premiering with NPR ahead of the Yawner's first ever American shows at next week's SXSW. The only song in Spanish on their debut album, the track concerns front woman and songwriter Elena Nieto's time in la Costa Brava (the Mediterranean Coast of North Catalonia), it's ascending vocal melodies, insistent guitar parts and gurgling synths expressing the excitement of early summer and the joy of living in those moments, as she explains to NPR:

"'La Escalera' is the only song in Spanish on the album and the first one I've written in my native language," she says. "It's about the beginning of the summer, pure joy and being in a place you really like. It puts into words the immediacy of enjoying every little moment. The chorus translates into 'I think your mom is calling you through the stairwell' which is literally what was happening when I wrote this guitar part, when dinner was ready."

In support of Just Calm Down, Yawners will playing in the U.S. for the first time, appearing at this year's SXSW (find them here on NPR's Austin 100 preview).

Wednesday, March 13

1:00pm -- La Castanya Unofficial SXSW Showcase @ Breakaway Records
12:30am -- 720 Club Patio (Official Showcase)

Thursday, March 14

12:00pm -- Music For Listeners @ Lazarus Brewing
4:40pm -- Hipster Robots Suck Day Party @ Side Bar

Friday, March 15

4:00pm -- Botticelli's
11:15pm -- Burgermania LatAm/Viva Pomona Official SXSW Showcase @ Hotel Vegas

Saturday, March 16

3:00pm -- Northbound and Bond Music Festival @ Barrow Brewing Company (Salado, TX)

Yawners are the Madrid-based power pop duo of Elena Nieto and Martin Muñoz. Founded by Nieto in her home town of Salamanca and persisting through a move to Germany before finding their current form with Muñoz in Madrid, Yawners have established themselves at the forefront of the blossoming Spanish guitar pop scene.

Following a series of early singles that have earned critical praise and comparisons to acts like Swearin', Husker Du, and Blink-182 in their home country, Yawners are preparing to release their debut LP, Just Calm Down. Composed of 10 effortlessly engaging pop songs, the album introduces a promising voice in Nieto, who weaves '90s college rock and skate punk influences into collection of nostalgia-inducing, lovelorn tracks that showcase a mix of stunning compositional dexterity and enchanting melodies.

Despite their stripped down line up, Nieto's deft and inventive guitar parts are layered with her and Munoz' harmonized vocals to produce a huge sound reminiscent of the early Ric Ocasek-produced Weezer albums, production that is perfectly suited for the immediacy of the material. Nieto, who is a translator and speaks Spanish, German, and English fluently, has a refreshingly direct songwriting approach imbued with playfulness and humor - as on the affectionate kiss off to a stoner ex-boyfriend on buoyant early album stand out "Seaweed" - but with the range to find moments of emotional resonance that would not be out of place beside the band's emo heroes like The Get Up Kids, American Football, and Tigers Jaw. It's a suitably impressive introduction to a band with a bright future, who appear poised to be the latest Spanish export to garner a global audience in 2019.

Just Calm Down will be released via La Castanya on March 22nd and is available for preorder now HERE.

Photo Credit: Mariano Regidor

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