A distant tambourine shakes repeatedly in the distance, leaving the listener perfectly vulnerable as they begin to embark on a complex musical journey that can only be known as In And Out Of Youth And Lightness. This is the title of the third full-length album from Louisville, Kentucky’s Young Widows. Arising from the breakup of hardcore band Breather Resist, guitarist Evan Patterson and bassist Nick Thieneman assumed vocal duties, renaming the band Young Widows—not knowing how far their sound would beautifully depart from their hardcore ancestor in five years. Their first two full-lengths, Settle Down City and Old Wounds, were nothing like Breather Resist but still contained a certain edge, certain rawness. Settle Down City churned out heavy noise rock reminiscent of The Jesus Lizard with sludgy bass lines, out of key guitar progressions, and the force of dual yelling by Patterson and Thieneman. Old Wounds showcased the bands beginning transformation into the unexplainable machine they are now. With much of the album recorded live by Converge’s Kurt Ballou, Old Wounds unveiled the more mature and exploratory side of Young Widows with songs like “The Guitar” and “The Heat Is Here”, while still sticking mostly to the formula of monotone-like yelling over intricate noise rock.
After listening to their third full-length
In And Out of Youth And Lightness, Young widows has left me speechless—not good for someone about to write an album review. The opening track “Young Rivers” places an uncomfortable fear in the pit of my stomach while soothing my mind to rest at the same time. Evan Patterson’s vocals are low, dark, and eerie, almost Swans-esque as they drone amongst the reverb ridden guitar licks and feed off of the repetitive slow beat of the drums. “Young Rivers” is a perfect song to begin the record as it reveals Young Widows dramatic shift in vocal dynamics from their previous records. Patterson moves away from the powerful yelling approach into haunting, almost whisper like melodies. The chanting chorus sounds like a demonic choir in the depths of hell that is somehow comforting and keeps the listener wanting more and more. “Future Heart”, for which they just made an interesting music video, gives old fans a small sigh of relief, but not for long, as it displays some of the original elements of the band with charging drums over powerful distorted bass and heavy, delay drenched guitar riffs. Thieneman’s bluesy bass line on “In And Out Of Lightness” drives the record further into their new terrain while “Lean On The Ghost” exhibits a strong Swans influence, with a pounding rhythm section mixed with an oriental sounding guitar riff and integration of ambient female vocals. The album casts an ominous and downright scary presence, not surprising as the band tracked the record in a funeral home turned studio in Louisville. It’s almost as if the voiceless ghosts are present within the music and are using Patterson to articulate their despair to the outside world (Listen to the whole record in complete darkness, you’ll understand what I’m talking about). Other stand out tracks include the complicated song structure of “White Golden Rings” and “In And Out Of Youth”, which brings the album to a close with Patterson’s unique vocal style groaning “these wild dreams are dying/these wild dreams are done”. All in all, In And Out Of Youth And Lightness not only represents Young Widows maturing and perfecting their sound, but also offers an unconventional masterpiece attractive to anyone seeking something new. Young Widows have always pushed the boundaries amidst all of the bullshit present in the music scene. With In And Out Of Youth And Lightness, there are simply no boundaries surrounding the band, which allows for their sound to grow into a unique beast that I hope will never be stopped.
Rating: 8.5/10
Favorite Track: “Young Rivers”
No comments:
Post a Comment