Title: Bad Weather
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 14th March 2014
Reviewed By: Ben Chapman
Alternative musicians from Birmingham Youth Man are the most impressive punk/alternative noise trio I’ve heard in a while. For only three people they make complex music with impact that encourages raising the volume, and Youth Man undeniably convey this on Bad Weather.
The album begins well with the opening track setting an energetic and subversive tone. Heavy Rain’s intro sounds as if it's straight out of Ocarina of Time when a like-like tries to eat your shield, only Youth Man have made it their own. There's the same sense of triumph, plenty of strength in the restless vocals as they waywardly drive a vulnerable, though certainly empowering, tune. It's good to hear the combination of quick strumming alongside dissonant melodies creeping around in the song's bridges. A tightly structured affair that's loud and fast, decorated with some nice features such as the interesting dark arpeggio punched out by the bass and dramatic ferocity of the singing.
Insipid is notable for sounding so at home at such an intense pace. The discordant mash of spiked distortion, speed and erratic complexity pulls of a heady effect heard in other acts such as post-hardcore pioneers Drive Like Jehu.
Salt is the most harrowing track on the album, opening with a spookily desolate vocal line that builds it's wailing up into a straightforward but strong onslaught of crashing drums and chords. A constantly descending feel to its crunching heaviness makes for an oppressive listen towards the song's end.
The enjoyable twisted-lullaby vocals manifest a compelling looping daze in Wide Awake. The tune drones melodically into a heavier section and the instruments build up the tune in slow professional confidence throughout; it’s a masterpiece of structured angst that wails in the ears long after listening.
Inshallah is probably the greatest song on the EP. The long-wailing vocals of Incubus-style melodic power lead us into a heavy chorus with rapid pace and pits of muddy distortion. Again, it'd be good to know if there are any Drive Like Jehu persuasions, but either way they can certainly be imagined, and Youth Man have displayed they are a reckonable trio capable of being just as loud and influential. Youth Man are set to play several festivals in the coming months, and hearing Bad Weather is proof that they should be part of your schedule.
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