Enthusiasts Only
'All At Once' is the first offering from Young People following their move to a duo after the departure of founding member Jeff Rosenberg and proves that they are still refusing to be musically pigeonholed. Country, soul, hip hop, blues and jazz all find their place in the Young People's camp, radiating uniquely out of their ambivalent D.I.Y musical offerings.
Ambling slowly through each track, it soon becomes clear that urgency is not a word Young People openly embrace. Katie Eastburn's raspingly breathless vocals hauntingly take charge as she drives each song in a style akin to a Karen O/Kate Bush cross. With a wise innocence masked behind each word she sings, Eastburn is unexplainably engaging as the quiet stillness of Young People's music works further to emphasise her vocals. Attention to detail appears to be the key to Young People as they slowly and accurately deliver every single section of the song. Maybe it is this fact that drains the album. After a while it simply becomes too repetitive and you wait in vain for the tempo to pick up or for Eastburn's tone to alter slightly; neither happen and as such Eastburn's ability to captivate instead becomes passé and drawn out.
Young People's style appears to be moulded around no particular genre; instead there is an ad hoc approach which is both uniquely promising and confusing. 'Reapers' opens with an almost industrial techno dance beat before the more chilled out, laid back Young People trademark takes over offering a complete contrast within a few seconds. Likewise, 'Slow Moving Storms' opening chant-like vocals - the quickest on the entire album - suddenly die a death as a bluesier jazz fuelled stance is adopted. With so many changes and contradictions it is hard to keep up with Young People let alone work out what they are about, the only staple for them is the very sombrely paced vocals of Eastburn. The signature tune for Young People, stylistically, is 'Your Grave'. Here the compulsive slow drawn out vocals play over distantly quiet quick drumbeats, providing the contradiction Young People seem to demand from their music.
On the one hand Young People are uniquely captivating with an originality that sets them apart. Then comes the but; 'All At Once' simply doesn't show the band's full potential whilst the rasping vocals of Eastburn may initially offer an allure, they sadly suffer due to the repetitiveness of the album and the snail like pace it adopts, suggesting that this is perhaps an album for Young People enthusiasts only.