The Underground Youth are something of a musical enigma. This Manchester four-piece have been collectively creating a heady blend of shoegaze, post-punk and psych-rock with ease since 2008 to produce an overall sound so hypnotically mesmerising that I'm constantly floored every single time that I hear them. The band originally self-released their third stunning long-player entitled 'Mademoiselle' back in 2010 and now it's getting the full-on vinyl treatment courtesy of the ever consistent London based Fuzz Club Records and is available right now via their website.
'Mademoiselle' begins with the intensely vivid 'Hope & Pray'. This opening track snakes its way through the musical landscape on a wave of tambourine shakes, subtle percussive hits, shimmering guitars and that instantly recognisable vocal courtesy of Craig Dyer. I'm transfixed with 'Mademoiselle', the self-titled second track on this impressive release. It lazily meanders on an addictive guitar progression that swirls around that impressive vocal line before it cleverly injects some distortion into the chorus, thus balancing everything out nicely. The metronomic 'Underground' hypnotises you from the off, whilst 'Olya's Song' is a beautiful slice of dreamy, melodic brilliance. Vocally heart-wrenching in its entirety but jam-packed full of sonic finesse none the less, the atmospheric cover version of the endemic Spacemen 3 track 'Lord Can You Hear Me?' shimmers and radiate,s while the pentatonic 'Crash (BSA Jam)' introduces us to a full drum kit for the first time, albeit with the obligatory hypnotic percussion track and tambourine accompaniment, collectively shuffling through their sonic gears alongside the impressive lead guitar attack.
'Iggy The Eskimo' echoes in a world of spacious reverb as the sparse guitar progressions and that radiant vocal track hug each other intently. It's a stunning track. There's a subtle menacing drone teetering on the outer fringes of 'Une Saison En Enfer' that vies for this listener's attention as the instrumentation builds and that hypnotic psych-induced vocal track cuts the sonic tension like a sharp knife. Up next, 'Hedonism' swims in a sea of swirling, reverberating sound waves, repetitive up-tempo drum patterns and shimmering guitars, whilst 'Feel So Free' calms proceedings down considerably to a golden acoustic-hued lustre.
The album's closing track, 'Mercury Guitar', has an interesting post-rock edge, intertwined with a stunningly atmospheric but insanely experimental psych-rock swirl that grabs your attention from its very first note. An impressive finale to a very impressive album.
The Underground Youth's website
Buy: 'Mademoiselle'
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