Before I proceed any further, I’m going to get the tropes out of the way: the loud, louder, LOUDER Mogwai-isms, the Jesus & Mary Chain “Phil Spector with an even bigger wall of sound” choruses, the Sonic Youth fuzz squalls – they’re all here. However, I feel the need to get these comparisons over and done with because they only serve to do Young Romance a disservice.
Whilst so many bands are content to take the aforementioned as cookie cutters with which to create something sweet, sugary, yet ultimately unmemorable, London’s Young Romance tear up the recipe book and start anew with their own raw (in every sense of the word) ingredients on the track ‘Wasting Time‘ lifted from their new EP, Wild.
The instruments are fuzzed out and indistinguishable from each other, yet, instead of dissolving into a murky goo, the sonic swarm is concentrated into a distillation of melody. I say “swarm” because, instead of a clear-cut “verse-chorus-verse-chorus” structure, there’s a sense of something big getting closer and closer. You’re caught wondering, “Is this the chorus?” then BOOM – something bigger envelopes you. It’s like a storm that you’re convinced you’ve seen the worst of, then the rain falls twice as hard.
This is, of course, why the usual comparisons I threw out in the introduction are rendered moot. There is no sense of “payoff” as there is with Mogwai; you’re given more, more and more. The walls of noise are always tightly contained, creating a greater sense of pop sensibility than JaMC could have dreamed of. The screeches and squalls are as vast as Sonic Youth, but they’re controlled here to form something sleek, smooth and watertight. When bands usually draw these comparisons, a conclusion can be made that this ground has already been trodden to death. Of course, when the Young Romances of this world come around, you only appreciate them more. A truly original slab of feedback-drenched fuzzpop.
“Formed in 2013 – Young Romance is the London based Noise Pop duo comprising of Claire (Vocal & Drums) and Paolo (Guitar). After early shows supporting Mystery Jets, Slow Club and Summer Camp, 2014 saw the band self-release their critically acclaimed debut 7″ ‘Pale’ – (March 10th 2014). Young Romance’s new Wild’EP is out via Banquet Records.”
