Yo - Charm World (1985, Deadbeat)

Yo.  What's in a name?  Ostensibly a mere two letters for this East Bay trio, who weren't long on the moniker front, but made some pretty damn unique records.  Chalk much of that up to mouthpiece/six-stringer Bruce Rayburn, whose pipes bear an uncanny likeness to Guadalcanal Diary's Murray Attaway, and to a lesser degree Tyson Meade of Defenestration/Chainsaw Kittens renown, not to mention Stan Ridgeway.   As an entity, Yo were equally characterized by driving and often punk-induced rhythms, making Charm World an unlikely yet somehow ideal "car album."  It's the kind of record that only the golden age of college radio could have nurtured, gestated by a band with an esoteric flair that takes some acquiring.  Mutant Sounds blog had a few choice words to say about Yo, however the download links are dead.  This is from my own rip. 

01. Heard It All Before
02. I See Beyond
03. House of Sorrow
04. Deadbeat Sea
05. Way Down
06. Bowl of Cherries
07. Charm World
08. Fire in the Sky
09. Close the Curtain
10. Armed & Willing Soldier
11. Prepare to Rule a Nation
12. Isn't it Lovely
13. Long Gone Gone
14. Merrily
15. Devil in the Deep Blue Sea
16. Wicked Way
17. On the Seventh Day

Hear