Yahtzee Brown

The cloudy, cosmic Americana of Yahtzee Brown is just beginning to take shape on the 22-year-old rookie’s self-titled debut. Melding the surreal psych-country of cult bands like Dr. Dog, Wilco and the Old 97s with the reflective, wry songwriting chops of Father John Misty, Brown is poised to become one of this year’s breakout artists. Part of an emerging class of Gen Z musicians who were raised on a mix of ‘60s and ‘70s classic rock and more contemporary, thoughtful indie rock, there are strands of both eras in the sound of Brown’s debut. That, along with a distinctly post-modern insouciance, which seems to be an innate part of growing up in the late 2010s and pandemic-impacted decades, makes You Got This a remarkably meditative record.But the children of musicians tend to have a knack for introspection, and Yahtzee is no different. Raised between Austin and Seattle by a rock drummer and a Texan mother—who passed down a love for country legends like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Townes Van Zandt—this fledgling songwriter was exposed to a whole host of incredible influences from a very young age. As the son of a touring musician, Yahtzee remembers being carried in his mom’s arms to his dad’s concerts, sporting a pair of those enormous noise canceling headphones that make loud rock shows safe for toddlers. He never experienced a life where music wasn’t at the center, so predictably, it became a natural focus for his creative energy.In a house full of guitars, where there was always a piano, and a rotating cast of his parents’ musical friends, it was inevitable that Brown learned how to play guitar. But it was listening to loads of Tom Petty records that helped him realize songwriting appealed to him more than a lead guitar role. “I started off just wanting to be a guitar player, but being the lead guitar player wasn’t really my calling,” he remembers. “Then I got really into Tom Petty and thought ‘oh, this could be my avenue.’ I’ve always been crazy about really great songs and I’ve been obsessed with music from a fan standpoint. When I realized being a songwriter could be a path for me, I started getting serious about singing too. That was around 15 or 16.”Playing with a couple of teenage bands during high school was a key part of learning how to collaborate musically with others, but as Brown’s experience with songwriting deepened, it became clear working on his own was the best format. “The most fruitful songwriting I’ve been able to engage in is alone, and then adding more musical pieces later,” he explained. He wrote the songs on You Got This solo, before bringing them to his producer and mentor, Emile Millar, who helped Brown sharpen and polish his sound and add a live band to build layers. For now, the Yahtzee Brown band is “a rotating cast of beloved characters” without a permanent lineup. Like all things in a musician’s chaotic life, that’s subject to change at some point; for now, Yahtzee Brown is a solo artist, with a killer full band(5 PC)!After high school, Brown headed back to the Pacific Northwest for a stint to attend college at Western Washington University, but ultimately, the pull of Texas was too strong. “I moved back to Austin in 2023, and that’s when I started really working on the songs that made it onto the record,” he says. Flying back and forth to Santa Barbara to work with Millar in his studio there, Brown initially thought he only had a couple of singles or maybe even an EP’s worth of material. In the end, the songs he’d begun were strong enough to pull together into a succinct but powerful nine-song album.