Record Review: The Happy Yew — Sweet Clyde vs. The Goblin Army

During the first three songs of Sweet Clyde vs. The Goblin Army, it seems like you’re strapped into a horror-punk concept album, but then the album veers in multiple directions. What follows is praise for Betty White, deals with the devil and “Bobby Streets,” an evocative, emotionally-heavy song about a loved one gone too soon. The Happy Yew spent their last two demos rounding out their sound, trying to figure out how much folk music to incorporate in their otherwise menacing, ominous punk. Here, that’s much more streamlined, and, with every release, they’re inching closer to finding what they’re looking for. —Scott Recker