The sun ain't going down yet
Preceding the launch of their third album "All At Once", this six-track EP, (released through Too Pure) is the last record to feature the creative input of founder member Jeff Rosenberg. Having been firmly encroached in the US indie scene since their debut album hit out in 2002, Young People have now set their sights firmly on mainstream success and will soon be releasing details of their European Tour. I'll be honest: I'd never heard of them. But after skimming their bio and being of a generally inquisitive disposition (although downright nosey would probably be more accurate), I thought I'd give it a shot.
Featuring a bare, stripped-down production (though not having heard any of their previous releases, I've got no point of comparison to what they usually sound like), the disc buzzes with a twitching energy right from the first bar. Frenetic drumming, rambling bass and distorted axe work dominate throughout and the instrumentation is neatly juxtaposed by Katie Eastburn's elegantly haunting vocals. A heady mixture of Karen O, Siouxsie Sioux, P.J. Harvey and Chrissie Hynde (now THAT'S a fucking list) Eastburn's voice is often suffocated by the production mix, a decision that only forces the listener to concentrate on the decipherment of her warblings all the more keenly. And warble she does. To be frank, her voice isn't just all over the shop; it's all over the pavement outside too. But before you take this as a criticism, it ain't. Eastburn's voice is a wonderful instrument - delicate and dynamic all at once - it has a bluesy, jazzy and ultimately ethereal quality that, to me at least, proved irresistible.
A wide range of tempestuous emotions echo through "Five Sunsets In Four Days": from the sense of palpable danger and disaffected emptiness that courses through the veins of "Hot Horse"; through to the delicate contemplation of "The Mountain" and concluding with the wistful romance and playful arrangement of "Sudden Fear". It's a record of many parts which combine to form a consistent and affecting whole. Musically, there's all sorts going on here - blues, jazz, folk, country - everything is thrown into the pot and it works well. It's never boring, never uncomfortably opaque and is consistently full of surprises.
It's not going to be a record that you return to time after time after time just for something to listen to. It's a record that demands respect and effort to decipher but you'll definitely reap the rewards after a few plays. Like Kate Bush's most recent and critically acclaimed "Aerial" (in a peculiarly twisted way), "Five Sunsets In Four Days" growls, shrieks and bellows its way into your subconscious. It certainly deserves a place on your rack and maybe even a little one in your heart.