YOUTH GROUP

Going into this post, I found myself wondering if anybody thought of the band YOUTH GROUP as the Australian COLDPLAY. Perhaps because their sound seems designed to appeal to the masses. Their gestures may be a bit less grand and blustery, but their edges are just as soft. No one was harmed in the making of this music; no one will be harmed listening to it. Rather reassuring, that.

Turns out, though, that Coldplay may not be the best reference point. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE gets mentioned (pre-NARROW STAIRS, one presumes). One review cited BADLY DRAWN BOY. Another: MATTHEW SWEET. I agree that there's much "pop" in their pop-rock, and, in that regard, singer TOBY MARTIN has an absolutely ideal voice for carrying their message forth -- clean, pristine, yearning but never overreaching.

(P.S. Though I only stumbled upon it while checking YouTube for videos to today's selected songs, the skateboarding video footage accompanying "Forever Young" is uncommonly apt & engaging. This isn't eXtreme, X-Games-styled jumps, stunts, thrills & spills, mind you. Just slow, woozy '70s nostalgia that perfectly complements the music. And you needn't have been a kid in the 1970s -- like yours truly -- to find yourself a bit beguiled by it.]

YOUTH GROUP on MySPACE.

From the LP THE NIGHT IS OURS, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "One for Another"
[MP3] "Babies in Your Dreams"

From the LP CASINO TWILIGHT DOGS, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Sorry"
[MP3] "Dead Zoo"
[VID] "Forever Young" [ALPHAVILLE cover]

From the LP SKELETON JAR, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Lillian Lies"
[MP3] "Someone Else's Dream"