The Young Gods
Having the word "Young" or "Youth" in your band name can end up seeming like some kind of cruel joke, especially if the band has any longevity. Imagine if the Rolling Stones had been "The Young Stones" or "Rolling Stones Youth"? Their latest retirement tour would sound even more ironic.
So to The Young Gods. I was alerted to their return by an interview in the latest issue of 'Electronic Sound' (issue 51, for anyone that is interested).
So to The Young Gods. I was alerted to their return by an interview in the latest issue of 'Electronic Sound' (issue 51, for anyone that is interested).
I have always had a soft spot for them: the relentless drum sound, the breakneck guitar samples, Franz Treichler's dulcet vocals and the unpredictable nature of their albums - compare 'L'Amourir' above with the accordion-sampling 'La Fille De La Mort' below, both tracks from the album 'L'Eau Rouge'
Back after a 9 year hiatus, what do they have to offer today? On first listening their latest album, 'Data Mirage Tangram', sounds a little slow, and at times - dare I say - a little too ambient, for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ambient per se - there are some great albums in the genre - but I guess it's not what I listen to The Young Gods for.
Of course, any direction the band wish to take, is their prerogative, but I'm still looking for the adrenaline-rush of their pedal-to-the floor numbers to provide a little contrast, so this has been a bit of disappointment. The album opener, 'Entre en matière', is quite good - I like the vocal melody line, which is then echoed by the guitar. At times it feels like the song is about to break loose and unleash a salvo of metallic shards of pure noise, but it doesn't happen. Maybe that is part of the pleasure of this track: it doesn't do what you think it's going to.
Salvo or no salvo, to these ears all the songs on the new album seem to be at the same pace, or even slower still. This also means that the songs on the album are not obviously by The Young Gods, they don't seem to be distinctively theirs.
I will probably listen to the album a couple more times, but I suspect this may mark the twilight of The Young Gods. Was it worth a nine year wait? Only time will tell...
[Side note: Though Franz Treichler often sings in French, like Vendredi Sur Mer in my previous post, their origins are in Switzerland, and he is Swiss not French]
Back after a 9 year hiatus, what do they have to offer today? On first listening their latest album, 'Data Mirage Tangram', sounds a little slow, and at times - dare I say - a little too ambient, for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ambient per se - there are some great albums in the genre - but I guess it's not what I listen to The Young Gods for.
Of course, any direction the band wish to take, is their prerogative, but I'm still looking for the adrenaline-rush of their pedal-to-the floor numbers to provide a little contrast, so this has been a bit of disappointment. The album opener, 'Entre en matière', is quite good - I like the vocal melody line, which is then echoed by the guitar. At times it feels like the song is about to break loose and unleash a salvo of metallic shards of pure noise, but it doesn't happen. Maybe that is part of the pleasure of this track: it doesn't do what you think it's going to.
Salvo or no salvo, to these ears all the songs on the new album seem to be at the same pace, or even slower still. This also means that the songs on the album are not obviously by The Young Gods, they don't seem to be distinctively theirs.
I will probably listen to the album a couple more times, but I suspect this may mark the twilight of The Young Gods. Was it worth a nine year wait? Only time will tell...
[Side note: Though Franz Treichler often sings in French, like Vendredi Sur Mer in my previous post, their origins are in Switzerland, and he is Swiss not French]
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