It's currently looking like a firm upward trajectory for new York band Young Things. Formed in 2011, it's been this year that's seen their star rise, with a run of incredibly well-received shows, including selling out the Bowery Electric, and also releasing this debut album to similar critical acclaim. The key to their success, to a certain extent, is simple. Now, clearly you're going to need good tunes, and they have those, lots of them, but then so do dozens of other NYC bands. Connections can help, and one track on this album features a guest spot from Har Mar Superstar (we'll let you decide whether that's a blessing or a curse), but dozens of bands in NYC are well-connected. Without having met the band personally, we can only judge them by their music, and what we're hearing is a band who seem free from ego, not trying to be super cool, not being aloof or self-important: Young Things seem genuine, and this can be a big plus for a band. No one likes a show-off!
So without taking their hipster credibility too seriously, we're given an album where we can focus almost entirely on the music, without the extra baggage. Writing good songs is something this band do take seriously, although not to the point where it becomes self-important; 'Goodbye Love//Hello Sexual' is fun, vibrant and well made. The general sound is alternative guitar-pop with plenty of hooks and an immediacy to the songs. It's not for chin-stroking musos, it's for fans to enjoy, just as it should be. Most songs sound like potential singles: 'All Human Life' is upbeat and has a great chorus; it runs straight into 'Lucy' and the album is already feeling like a hits compilation. This song has a slight '60s feel and is a touch rockier but is packed with melody and more pop hooks. A song called 'Golly Gee' is hardly likely to be an exploratory piece of post-rock, is it? This is a great run of indie/pop songs.
Dropping the pace for 'Sore Eyes' shows diversity without compromising the song quality, in fact this is possibly one of the better tracks on the album. 'Taking Too Loud' is interesting but lacks some of the spark we find on other songs, however, this is followed instantly by the Beatlesy 'Hello Love' and the good ship Young Things is back on course. The bluesy 'Easy To Lie' passes by feeling a bit out of place, and then we get 'Goodbye Sexual' where we learn that working with Har Mar Superstar has paid off; it's definitely a stand-out and a good, rowdy alt-rock/pop track. They're not done yet though, and the epic sounding 'A Girl Named Fallujah' provides a late highlight, before 'Hello Love//Goodbye Sexual' is wrapped up with another Beatles-influenced track in slowie 'A Long Time Ago Tomorrow Morning'. For a debut, the overall standard here is exceptionally good and, if they wanted, could yield several singles.
Young Things' website
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