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I'm In Low

Revenge Song #13

Cousin of Sleep

Yortoise
The Happiest Part of Sad (My Favorite Revenge Songs)
(2008)

It’s been seven years since Yortoise released "I Love You to Death". To some, seven years may seem like a long time, but for a band that owns and operates its own recording studio and record label, time has a way of passing very quickly. Frontman, John Would, has been known to say that he’s so busy with other projects that there’s rarely time to work on his own band’s record. Couple that with the fact that bass player, Jeff Silberman, made a transcontinental move from the band’s native Los Angeles back to Philadelphia a few years ago, and it’s a wonder that their latest release "The Happiest Part of Sad (My Favorite Revenge Songs)" is seeing the light of day a mere seven years later. Has time been good to Yortoise? The short answer is a resounding “Yes.”

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I Thought Tammy Was Dead

Cobweb Thighs

I Buried That Girl In A Hole In The Back of My Head

Yortoise
I love You To Death
(2000)

Even the album title, "I Love You to Death" captures the mood and spirit of this very fine work by Yortoise of Venice, California. It really isn't fair to force these guys to place labels like "Alternative" or "Rock" or "Pop Rock" on their music. The influences come at you from every direction. Finely crafted by tunesmith John Would, a song like "I Buried That Girl in the Hole in the Back of My Head" will creep into your consciousness and take firm root. On Weirdo Magnet, you come to the understanding that Mr. Would has had some unpleasant encounters with other members of our species. Obviously these guys have had some run ins with the law, just listen to Ossify Me. Hell, these guys even borrow heavily from Romeo Void (without the sax or the female vocal) on The Art of Standing Still. And speaking of Art, that's what this album is. It grows on you and then grows in you. How can that be bad?

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Yortoise
The Evil Butterflies Are Coming
(1997)

“Fab tone chunky, roots rock funky and a little bit monkey, that's the groovy sound/people of the hard shell gooey center of Yortoise” so says Shark of the Wild Colonials. Straight out of their Stanley Recording Studios in Venice and into the clubs of Los Angeles, Yortoise has been throwing anything they fancy into their musical blender and pouring it out on stage, usually with good results.