Later Youth – Statuesque
If you’ve been busy trying to convince your friends to attend Summer festivals within your company, you may have found yourself having to find ways to describe the bands and artists that are supposed to be on the bill. To do so, you probably used words like “lush” and “aggressive.” You probably gestured wildly with your hands and said things like “it’s really like mixing Nancy Sinatra with Prodigy, y’know.” You may find yourself having to do that when describing Later Youth.
While I’m sure that helped. There are plenty of musical elements that you’ll never find yourself having to describe. Everyone knows what a guitar band is supposed to sound like and what kind of songs they write. And in an age where AI is threatening the jobs of songwriters, it’s easy to see why some would prefer to choose familiarity over innovation.
But picture yourself walking into a music festival, hearing Later Youth’s “Statuesque” for the first time and needing to describe it to your friends afterwards? It may not be an easy task because this musical project seeks eeriness and otherworldliness. That Wurlitzer piano stabs holes in the music rather than prop it up, and the lyrics about having to be stared at by passersby are not your typical Summery slogans. You may need to use a lot of hand gesturing when talking about this project to your friends, but that’s all the better.
Drew Friel – Love Story (but you can’t run)
I’ve read enough books on the matter and have been to enough songwriting clinics to know that the advice that the experts usually focus on is to keep things simple. The people who have actually managed to make a living out of writing tunes will emphasise how writing direct, simple songs and writing plenty of them is the best route to success.
While this makes sense, it is simply not an option for many young artists who want to contribute their songs to the world. It’s not an option for Drew Friel, and it should be one of the many options for all of the musicians who want to capture the complexity of life.
For one thing, love, the topic most often discussed in pop songs, simply cannot be boiled down to cliches about happiness, exuberance or, alternatively, misery and disappointment.
What’s astounding about Drew Friel’s “Love Story (but you can’t run)” is just how much this sounds like you’re underwater and being pulled by the currents. What’s also astounding is how well the words and the music describe the nature of love itself, the glory and the absolutely frightful nature of it. Drew Friel composed a very special love song.
