Rock/Review Scott Yoder - Lover, Let Me In

Emerging from the wreckage of his childhood band, The Pharmacy, Scott Yoder arrived clad in a black cloak, stomping to the beat of his own sparkling tambourine. Over the course of two LPs, he has toured the world, espousing a more personal distillation of his cathartically melancholic songcraft. Nearly always on the road, he has honed his live act with a crunching, yet sensitive, backing band of similarly inclined glam misfits.

“Lover, Let Me In” by Scott Yoder is a deep, reflective journey that shows the artist at his most vulnerable and intimate. For this album, Yoder withdraws into seclusion despite his flamboyant and otherworldly public character. He writes and records the 10-track compilation by himself in his Seattle house, with the help of a band of feral cats. The album's main themes—the difficulty of connecting, the boundaries between hearts, and the silent desire for intimacy—are reflected in this self-imposed seclusion.

“Lover, Let Me In,” which was written starting in 2021 with a yellow legal pad and an unplugged electric guitar, combines thoughtful reflections with genuine feeling. Though they cover a wide range of topics, from thoughts on Lebanese poets and the fall of the Soviet Union to the fervor and innocence of first love, the album's lyrics consistently touch on the common human experience of trying—and frequently failing—to break down the barriers separating us from the people we care about.

In order to portray emotional depth, Yoder uses his expressive vocals, delicate melodic flourishes, and the warmth of acoustic and electric guitar tones in his sparsely composed music. Listeners are given the impression that they are a part of Yoder's private thoughts because to the basic production, which was captured on his laptop in a tiny loft bedroom.

The album “Lover, Let Me In” is a highly personal examination of connection and isolation, full of subtle insights. Scott Yoder's capacity to transform solitude into art that powerfully resonates with anybody navigating the difficulties of love and human intimacy is demonstrated by this work, which is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally intimate.