Album Review: Young Galaxy - Ultramarine

Young Galaxy
Ultramarine
Rating: Grrrr

Montreal quintet Young Galaxy's first records went practically unnoticed by me, their Broken Social Scene/Arcade Fire-lite alternative rock was workman like and pleasant but lacked any type of individual spark that would make them transcend the comparisons with their countrymen. It wasn't until 2011's Shapeshifting that something interesting happened. The band, feeling a bizarre need to shake things up, sent the tapes for Shapeshifting over to Dan Lissik, former member of Swedish pop act Studio, who spread his Balearic magic over the album's 11 tracks. There was something fortuitous in this partnership as the resulting album gave the band much needed spark and buzz. It was an album of elegantly gorgeous synth pop that just got better and better with each listen. Wanting to keep their forward momentum going, Young Galaxy once again enlisted the production duties of Dan Lissik, and have come up with another interesting batch of tracks that builds upon the foundation set by Shapeshifting. Ultramarine is not as brilliant or game changing as its predecessor but has its own charms and high points.

The one main change is the elevation of Catherine McCandless to main vocalist, forgoing any vocals from guitarist Stephen Ramsay. I enjoyed the back and forth between the two vocalists on Shapeshifting and it is the one element that I find missing from Ultramarine, however, despite this one major change the record as whole holds up remarkably well. Ultramarine opens strongly with the amazing single "Pretty Boy," a gorgeous, soaring track with undulating synth arpeggios, strings, and a bouncy drum track.



While the tracks on Shapeshifting moved and flowed in and out of each very well, there is a startling jump here and there in musical styles here on Ultramarine that takes a bit of getting used to before settling into a rhythm. From the shimmering synth pop of the opener, things take a sudden leap into sunkissed reggae and tropicalia on "Fall For You," which then springs into the fractured electro-pop of standout track "New Summer." Akin to my favorite track of last year, Sun Airway's "Laketop Swimmers," "New Summer" is an elegant ode to summer and it's intoxicating freeness that always seems to fade too fast.



From there the album ping pongs around, from the lovely dream pop of "Hard to Tell,"



slinky dance punk of "Out the Gate Backwards,"



to the wonky synth workout of "Privileged Poor,"



Young Galaxy finds away to always keep the listener guessing as to which direction they are headed. At times this approach can be a little bit exhausting as the flow of the album is a bit choppy. But the hooks and pristine production are too good to keep one from belaboring the point for too long.

Although Ultramarine lacks the OMG! moment that Shapeshifting brought to the band, but once you let the album work its magic over you it holds its own surprises. Young Galaxy feels more confident this go around, with a closer working relationship with Lissik bringing out their adventurous side, showing how they can effortlessly move between different genre experiments while still sounding like Young Galaxy. Ultramarine is a worthy follow up to Shapeshifting, and moves Young Galaxy into new and more varied territory.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Young Galaxy: Shapeshifting

Young Galaxy
Shapeshifting
Rating: Woof Daddy

Canadian synth-pop duo Young Galaxy (Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless) were unknown to me before the release of Shapeshifting. Having released two albums on the Arts & Crafts imprint, I was assuming they would have a similar sound to that label's two most popular acts: Broken Social Scene and The Dears. Surfing through some clips on Youtube all I found were some pleasant, yet rather dull, dream pop-like songs, that didn't give me much hope for liking the new record. Apparently, switching labels and enlisting the help of enigmatic Swedish producer Dan Lissvik of Studio has completely sparked new life into the band. The band provided Lissvik with the finished tapes of the record and he, via Skype, helped polish and mold the tracks. Throughout the album you can hear the bones of the record and how Lissvik added his warm synthesizers, thick guitars, and hazy Tropicalia to the mix. The pairing of the two together is pure genius, and they have collaborated on one of the best adult-dance pop albums of the year.

The songs on Shapeshifting are all full of killer hooks, sparkling instrumentation and arrangements, tethered to the ground by McCandless' almost operatic voice and Ramsey's world-weary croon. McCandless' voice has been getting most of the accolades, but her voice, strong as it is, can be a bit much in large doses. Ramsey's more subtle voice really acts as a palate cleanser between richer courses. His voice is rich and warm on standout track "The Angels Are Surely Weeping"



McCandless follows with "Blown Minded," her voice low and sultry in the mix, erupting passionately in the chorus:



The album is sequenced almost perfectly, ebbing and flowing between moodier tracks and more upbeat material. First single "We Have Everything" rushes by on waves of undulating synthesizers and gradually intensifying guitars, McCandless' voice angelic and haunting:



Lyrically, Young Galaxy lean heavily to more heavenly and spacey matters, which in the past could border on the silly. Although there are still some strange lyrics here and there, most of the lyrics on Shapeshifting are more personally grounded. I love the lyrics of "We Have Everything"

"I wept when we parted
And wept when we united
In poverty, my love, we have everything"

Although they do not do it often enough, some of the best tracks have a beautiful interplay between the two vocalists. Riding on gentle, tropical beat, "Peripheral Visionaries" is a gorgeous track that highlights each of their vocal styles. When they link together to sing "We have seen tears from the eyes of God," the hair will stand up on your arms:



One thing I love about Shapeshifting is how some of the tracks seem like they are going to be fairly generic, and then something out of character is added to them, making them really stand out. On "Phantoms," the music is very light and frothy, which is changed dramatically by a very interesting vocal turn from McCandless, reaching notes so high you get a nose bleed:



A simple, Tropicalia melody on "Cover Your Tracks" is subverted with a mini-moog synth part and interlocking guitars. The two vocalists' slipping in and out of each other's lines is amazing. And the lyrics are so beautiful:

"Throw away your letters and numbers
And make sure to cover your tracks
Throw away your desires and treasures
And make sure you burn all the maps"



Young Galaxy come across as a poppier Eurythmics (crossed with a little bit of Hugo Largo) on the sunny "B.S.E." Again, what initially seems like a cute little pop song is altered by a haunting and longing vocal turn in the middle-section from McCandless:



Shapeshifting is a phenomenal pop record, light and playful on the surface, but with amazing depth and ear for detail. Each spin of the record unearths new treasures and charms. I have no idea if Lissvik is the reason why the band sounds invigorated, or if Young Galaxy really came up with some killer tracks that are merely enhanced by his touch. In the end it doesn't matter, the results are what is important, and Shapeshifting is a brilliant collaboration.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.