Younger Brother's third album represents a departure from the duo's traditional psytrance influenced sound, however this change in style will not bother true aficionados of psychedelic music. While most of the songs in this album have song structures and vocals that are inspired by 'traditional' rock music, you can hardly call this album an imitation of Coldplay. Make no mistake; this is an attempt to push the boundaries of psychedelic music and not an attempt to "cash in" by using a more "accessible" sound.
Before you begin listening to this album, I'd like to emphasize the importance of experiencing this release as a continuous whole. This is one of those albums that grows on you with each successive play-through. I will admit that when I first heard this album, I was a little bit surprised by the 'rock-inspired' sound, however, I was careful to not make any quick judgements. After listening to this release on repeat for a few days, I realized how naive my initial reaction to "Vaccine" had been. Beneath the seemingly unexceptional 'rock sound' lies an ocean of psychedelia that will make you think about both personal and cosmic matters.
Tracklist
1. Crystalline
2. Shine
3. Pound A Rhythm
4. Safety In Numbers
5. Night Lead Me Astray
6. Train
7. Spinning Into Place
8. SYS 700
9. Tetris
When it comes to bringing out emotions in the listener, "Vaccine" presents us with an mixture of subtlety and explicitness. Tracks (or should I say songs?) such as "Night Lead Me Astray" have a very traditional 'rock' structure that emphasizes the chorus and the accompanying music. While "Night Lead Me Astray" is not a bad track by any means, I feel it could have been much better if YB made it a little more low-key so you wouldn't get that "too explicit to be authentic" feeling that predominates the mainstream music world. To some degree, all the tracks on this album have parts that suffer from this flaw, but it doesn't really distract you entering a good headspace when listening to this album.
I have to make a special mention of "Crystalline". It's in this track that YB utilize the power of lyrics to the fullest. "Crystalline" is a love ballad that manages to evoke both feelings of intense love and a sense of profound distance and confusion that can take over your mind when you feel that you are in love. It takes a very special group of artists to make a love song that also makes you contemplate the duality of existence.
The final two tracks are purely electronic and do not have any vocals. Personally, I never found these two tracks particularly inspiring. It almost feels like Posford & Co felt that they had to throw a bone to their core audience and that's how "SYS 700" and "Tetris" became a part of this album. Tetris does get better when Ru's vocals appear towards the end of the track, but I still feel that some more work would have made this a better song.
This album is really about combing 'rock methodology' with the trippyness of psytrance inspired music to make something new. Something that can appeal to both fans of psytrance and people who are not that big on electronic music. Bringing more people into the fold of psychedelic (whether it's purely electronic or hybrid such as this release) music is always a good thing in my book. While I would say it's a little early to call Younger Brother the Pink Floyd of the 21st century, this is an excellent release that reminds us that we should always encourage experimentation and not be too conservative in our expectations and desires. :)
Before you begin listening to this album, I'd like to emphasize the importance of experiencing this release as a continuous whole. This is one of those albums that grows on you with each successive play-through. I will admit that when I first heard this album, I was a little bit surprised by the 'rock-inspired' sound, however, I was careful to not make any quick judgements. After listening to this release on repeat for a few days, I realized how naive my initial reaction to "Vaccine" had been. Beneath the seemingly unexceptional 'rock sound' lies an ocean of psychedelia that will make you think about both personal and cosmic matters.
Tracklist
1. Crystalline
2. Shine
3. Pound A Rhythm
4. Safety In Numbers
5. Night Lead Me Astray
6. Train
7. Spinning Into Place
8. SYS 700
9. Tetris
When it comes to bringing out emotions in the listener, "Vaccine" presents us with an mixture of subtlety and explicitness. Tracks (or should I say songs?) such as "Night Lead Me Astray" have a very traditional 'rock' structure that emphasizes the chorus and the accompanying music. While "Night Lead Me Astray" is not a bad track by any means, I feel it could have been much better if YB made it a little more low-key so you wouldn't get that "too explicit to be authentic" feeling that predominates the mainstream music world. To some degree, all the tracks on this album have parts that suffer from this flaw, but it doesn't really distract you entering a good headspace when listening to this album.
I have to make a special mention of "Crystalline". It's in this track that YB utilize the power of lyrics to the fullest. "Crystalline" is a love ballad that manages to evoke both feelings of intense love and a sense of profound distance and confusion that can take over your mind when you feel that you are in love. It takes a very special group of artists to make a love song that also makes you contemplate the duality of existence.
In another timePosford does a very good job at inserting his trademark synths and twisted samples in all the tracks in the album. The electronic elements always complement both the vocals and the guitar work. Posford typically uses synths and samples to add a trippy ambience to a track or to emphasize the vocals or 'guitar breakdowns'. While the rock vibe predominates this album, there are moments such as the second part of "Spinning Into Place", that almost sound like a "Ineffable Mysteries..." era Shpongle track.
We would meet
With the worlds colliding
At our feet
I look through the air
See all the lives
I can see your eyes
They're so bright
This album is really about combing 'rock methodology' with the trippyness of psytrance inspired music to make something new. Something that can appeal to both fans of psytrance and people who are not that big on electronic music. Bringing more people into the fold of psychedelic (whether it's purely electronic or hybrid such as this release) music is always a good thing in my book. While I would say it's a little early to call Younger Brother the Pink Floyd of the 21st century, this is an excellent release that reminds us that we should always encourage experimentation and not be too conservative in our expectations and desires. :)
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