London-based duo Young Romance recently released their long-awaited debut album, ‘Another’s Blood’, on Banquet Records. Paolo and Claire from the pairing have sent us a Track By Track guide to the bittersweet noise pop songs that make up the album, below!
Pale
Paolo : This was the first track we recorded when we settled on being a two piece live. When writing I was trying to make something with a similar pulse to ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ by the Rolling Stones. When creating the beat, Claire was listening to a lot of Veronica Falls.
Wasting Time
Paolo : We recorded this one with Barney Barnicott at Bluebell Studios in Kent. I remember it took an age to get the solo right, and it was eventually put down on the last day in the studio.. There’s a lot of guitars on this one, and a synth hook that Barney added which at the time seemed very left field, but could now not be imagined without. The song was originally written as a pop song to sell, until Claire heard it and decided we should do it.
Above The Wall
Claire : Written nearer the end of last summer, we were trying to mix second album Slow Club drum sounds with Pains Of Being Pure At Heart fuzzy guitars on this one. The song is about a horrendous time that we had with a manager, our version of The Tuts 1982. but perhaps part of a reflection on ourselves within that time too.
Cracks
Claire : I feel this is Young Romance’s most accessible track, a straight up ballad. Paolo was listening to a lot of Hall & Oates when coming up with the tune although I’d forgive someone for not hearing that! It’s probably the track furthest away from the others on the album, with a more reflective and sparse arrangement and a much more melancholy feel, but also one of my favourites to sing.
Disappear
Paolo : This is the first track we put up online when we announced the album. It’s a bit garage rock to us, but with an ethereal vocal in the choruses. We experimented with a lot of different delays and degrees of tape saturation. The guitar solo is a bit ‘air guitar’, hopefully in a good way.
Pulling At The Grey
Paolo : I think this is Claire’s favourite on the record. It’s a bit Strokes sounding to me, and I think its the dirtiest one too. It reminds me of some of our older tracks musically that didn’t make the album (Swollen Hearts, Bitten Tongues). It was the last to be recorded and one of the first that was finished. I feel this may be where the second record is most likely to go at the moment.
Never Learn
Paolo : The second of three tracks on the album which we worked on at Bluebell. It was written in the rehearsal room after the Pale 7″ was released. This one gets played a lot faster live. There were a lot more synths on it, but it made it sound like One Night Only to me, so we ditched most of them. Maybe one day we’ll do an electronic version.
Wild
Claire: This was the final track to be recorded at Bluebell. It was a live take, and I remember sitting in the dark in the morning after being awake for most of the night and I think you can hear the mood on the record. Once we finished it we sent it over to ‘Uncle Vodka’ to have a listen to as it didn’t seem quite finished, and he suggested extending the ending, and this is where all the guitars and Korg come in to really add some aggression to the track. It is lyrically quite close to me so I feel it’s the song on the album where the lyrics most fit the sound of the song.
Room To Breathe
Claire: I remember having a pretty rough time when we wrote this song to be honest, but it has still become one of my favourites on the record and to perform. We experimented with a vocal harmony throughout, and really tried to embellish the recording with slide guitar and extra vocal parts, perhaps more than on any other song.
Cold
Paolo : My personal favourite on the album, we recorded it with one mic in the room. It was never meant to be on the album in its current format (it was just a demo) as it wasn’t technically perfect, but I think its imperfections have only added to what I like about it. I think the vocal take is my favourite on the record too.
