Thoughts Words ActionYoung Couple – yc
Today marks the release of “yc,” a debut album by Young Couple, an outstanding Danish band based in Copenhagen. Packed with eight incredible compositions, it represents an outstanding musical showcase that will unquestionably appeal to anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music. Heavily promoted with “Isn’t anything” and “As the leaves unfold,” two exceptional standalone singles that vividly demonstrate what you might expect from the remainder of the album, “yc” goes beyond a mere debut full-length. It proves that art-rock, when done right, can still sound fresh, unique, innovative, and exciting. While some readers and listeners might argue that alternative and art-rock sounds are nearly the same, Young Couple is here to disprove any believers in that theory. Their willingness to go beyond cliches and experiment with many approaches, techniques, directions, and styles positions them as a standout music outlet that delivers premium music rarely heard or seen on the contemporary music scene. Although they use art-rock as a main vessel, as the fundamental elements of this genre are mostly dominant in the mix, you’ll also notice how they incorporate some of the finest properties of alternative, indie rock, shoegaze, dream pop, and other similar music genres. They utilize all these additional sonic elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate this collection of songs to an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Each element has its place and purpose here, ensuring these tracks retain a natural flow while still resonating with all the qualities of the particular style. Therefore, these experimentations with approaches, techniques, directions, and music genres resulted in a magnificent, fascinating, otherworldly full-length album that will not only appeal to the art-rock fans but anyone who appreciates brilliant ideas and impressive musicianship.
Photo courtesy of the band.This epic sonic voyage commences with “Close To You,” a marvelous introductory piece that gradually pulls you into the Young Couple’s universe. With its beautiful guitar interplays that levitate between arpeggiated chord progressions and almost ambient manipulations that fade in and out all the time, it shapes a perfect soundscape for all the vocals to shine upon. There are tender, delicate, vividly hearable layers of saxophone, lurking around and giving more depth to this song, while the intricate bass and drumming performance act as a foundation for all the instrumentations to shine upon. Such an incredible piece that deserves its place as an introductory track. Young Couple deep dives into more dream pop, indie, and alternative aesthetics with “As The Leaves Unfold.” Once again, the band crafts lush soundscapes by fully stacking gentle, tender, jangly, angular chord progressions, empowered with the additional layers that articulate throughout each segment like ambient pads. Young Couple’s understanding of bringing tension and release through each sonic maneuver goes beyond comprehension so many times during this material, and this song exemplifies their tremendous skills. Soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, and powerful vocals are another strength of this band, and songs like “Cold Light” vividly showcase this quality by positioning it in the limelight. You’ll notice how all those harmonies seamlessly balance low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything these experienced musicians intended to achieve with their music. Besides decorating all those segments and orchestrations, these vocal harmonies contribute more than necessary emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate song stuctures. You’ll also enjoy the saxophone performance that almost leans into some jazzy themes. “Isn’t anything” gradually evolves with all those calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal, otherworldly layers appearing gently in the mix. Together, they construct a luxuriant soundscape that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus, grabs you by the collar, and refuses to let go long after this composition ends. The band incorporates each instrumentation carefully, without spoiling the calmness and tenderness of the track.
“A Light Was Moving” is another standout song here, with a rock-solid rhythm section propelling each section to new heights. You’ll notice how all those cleverly arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, steady drum beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics keep the remainder of the orchestration in line while dictating groove and tempo. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation of the hi-hat, splash over the cymbal has its place and purpose here, as it cuts the ambiance while providing more than necessary groove and detail. In the meantime, the warm-sounding, intricate, vividly hearable basslines help out those drumming parts by offering clean, warm, heavy low-end notes that also perfectly match synth and guitar works. As the song progresses, it becomes more of an art-rock showcase, with all those experimentations, drum fills, and layers of noise closing the tracks. “Dawn” is one of those tracks where the interplay between guitar, bass, and drums delivers odd-time signatures, yet everything seems carefully, thoughtfully, and intentionally constructed to satisfy even those picky listeners. It’s nearly mindblowing how all these layers articulate without overwhelming each other, proving that Young Couple thought about everything while constructing this piece. “Everything” commences with another low-end barrage, calm enough to suit the calm ambiance of the song, yet robust enough to give more than enough heaviness to the song. In the meantime, the lush, reverby guitars roam around with another collection of ambient layers. All of a sudden, everything rushes into a colossal, heavy, expansive soundscape, empowered by the sax performance. Once again, Young Couple demonstrates tension and release with such precision and finesse, while all those marvelous orchestrations lurk around and keep your ears occupied. This epic sonic journey commences with “Oddly shaped hours,” a perfect closing track that also gradually builds the atmosphere. These are the moments where this band uses all the vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver to give this material a closure. It’s one of the finest, dreamy, lush art-rock compositions you’ll hear in a while.
Young Couple crafted a masterpiece that not only demonstrates the finest qualities of art-rock music but also breaks all the rules and shapeshifts the boundaries of this genre. To be honest, no one can prepare you for what you’re about to experience with this beautiful material, but we’re positively sure that you’ll be more than happy to return to this impressive debut album every time you crave tastefully written, wisely composed, and flawlessly performed music. “yc” is a gamechanger of an art-rock genre that we desperately needed for decades and you should immediately place this fascinating album on your music radar as soon as possible. Head to your favorite streaming platform and check it out. 10/10
https://open.spotify.com/album/4Eocbtfd6bGDXhSjQUHBR6?si=ZLYOTrztTH-ajPPV2GZBCA
#ALTERNATIVE #AMBIENT #ARTROCK #CINEMATIC #DREAMPOP #INDIE #INDIEROCK #MUSIC #REVIEWS #SHOEGAZE #YOUNGCOUPLE
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