Young Galaxy Young Galaxy

I had read about Young Galaxy on a few websites and in a couple of magazines and it sounded like something I would want to check out. Could not turn up a copy of the CD anywhere in this town, so I asked my girlfriend to order it through the store she works for. It comes in, I go to pick it up, look at the cover. And was instantly won over.

The cover's graphics make it look like a 5-inch version of a 12-inch vinyl album. An old one. That's been played a ton and refiled into the middle of a huge shelf of records. It has that faded ring around it in the perfect round shape of the platter housed within. A lot of my old records look like that. I flipped through gatefolds and read liner notes like a spaz (how else would I still know who engineered the Power Station record?).

Young Galaxy have a familiarity about them without sounding like any one band from any one time. But they sound like someone I've been listening to for years. I hear elements of shoegaze. I hear a lot of college rock from all eras between 1981 and 1994. Even a hint of the lazy, sun-drenched California rock from the 70's. But at no one time do they sound exactly or solely like any one of them. I think the sunny sounds make the cold, angular aspects sound warmer and more organic. This sounds like it's a huge room full of actual people playing actual instruments together. It may have been pieced all together, but it sure doesn't sound like it.

"Swing Your Heartache", the opener, kind of ruined me for this record for awhile because it is such a good song. It opens with a cold, almost detached feel before a golden guitar riff make the song completely fill the room. It was all I could remember. But repeatedly listens were needed to fully appreciate all it had to offer. Now I know the first six tracks by heart, and totally dig the whole thing. The strong choruses, the male/female vocals, the guitar hooks, things like that make this one stand out from a lot of the really good rock that's been coming out on smaller labels.

Some bands I hear and appreciate the musicianship, can tell the songs are well-written, but they don't bowl me over and become one of the bands I have to put on every mix CD I make. They don't come up in conversations at the bar over a few beers. But Young Galaxy does. "Swing..." has been echoing in my head the entire time I've been typing this. I had to go to into my library and play it because it was driving me nuts. But any song here works. Track it down and check it out. And give it time. It deserves many, many listens, but it's worth it.

Young Galaxy on MySpace. "Swing Your Heartache" is there as of today. And so are three other excellent songs.
Young Galaxy on Arts & Crafts (label) website. Has some more video clips that the MySpace doesn't have.