Rock and roll CD a must

An Unwavering Band of Light
Artist: Jenny Owen Youngs
Indie
8.5 out-of 10

The Internet is such an amazing tool for finding relatively unknown musicians loaded with talent. For instance, a few clicks on my favorite indie music website and I found Jenny Owen Youngs. Hailing from the Hipster Mecca of Brooklyn, NY, Jenny creates a certain brand of pop rock that can only be found in, well, Brooklyn, NY. Extremely catchy, fun, and filled with more witty lines and instrumental hooks than Brooklyn has independent book stores. An Unwavering Band of Light was a great find for minimal searching.

Light is a bipolar collection of shaking rock numbers and haunting mid-tempo ballads. The album opener "Love for Long" is carried by handclaps and a very danceable drum beat. The vocal melody is constantly moving and the guitars are jangly, it sounds like summer fun wrapped into one song. "O God" is the first ballad to approach. Steady and smooth with a fantastic melody, it somehow doesn't feel out of place with its upbeat siblings.

As the album sailed on, only becoming more pleasing, the two middle tracks "Why You Fall" and "Sleep Machine" caught my attention immediately, receiving many repeats each. "Why You Fall" slows the album back down to mid-tempo and delivers another fantastic melody and steady shuffle beat, filled in with slide guitars and slight touches of piano. "Sleep Machine" brings in many different sounds and influences, changing the feel of the record. It begins hushed and eerie, opening into a short orchestral instrumental break with strings and crunched guitars and then returning to quiet verse. Another switch happens as the song falls into the groovy chorus with its staccato beat and dreamy melody.

Thankfully Light never hits a lull. The final four explore further into the musical themes of the album bringing the album to a strong close, where I'm left to reflect on what I've just heard. If it weren't for some aimless searching I'd never have found this gem of a record. For a moment I'm struck with the "everything happens for a reason" hypothesis. Well, I'm glad this happened. From start to finish I was greatly entertained and deeply captured by Jenny Owen Youngs. Find An Unwavering Band of Light and more of Jenny's music at http://jennyowenyoungs.bandcamp.com/album/an-unwavering-band-of-light

-SEAN CRAIB-PETKAU

Picture of Our Youth
David's Lyre
Indie
7 out-of 10

It seems I've missed the boat on David's Lyre. Soon after Picture of Our Youth was released in February 2012, bandleader Paul Dixon noted that he would be moving on to new independent projects due to the "tension between art and business", effectively sending David's Lyre into obscure indie-pop history. Nevertheless, this news will not stop me (nor thousands of other people) from enjoying the astonishing Picture of Our Youth, as it is forever encapsulated on the everlasting Internet.

I love the way that Picture was produced. Each song is filled with mystery, as vocals and rhythm are heavy in the forefront but behind everything is ambient percussion, guitar lines, and effective synth noise. The lyrics seem to symbolize a place that is unattainable by Dixon, a utopia that is constantly destroyed and rebuilt in the mind of the writer. Throughout the album you get the sense that Dixon is unhappy with where he is musically and yearns to explore deeper than he's allowed. In the Ukulele driven "Heart Beat" he exclaims "All of these dreams that I have searched lie over the mountain / But the sun on my skin makes me want to stay".

Picture is a very ethereal effort. Synthesizers fill in the bed tracks on which floating guitar melodies and stiff percussion sit. Dixon's crisp vocals cut through the organized discord and tie the bow on a perfect mix of experimental and pop influences.

Overall I was very impressed with this album. Unfortunate as it may be that David's Lyre will no longer be producing music, I'm glad I found Picture of Our Youth. Look into it if you're a fan of Muse, Patrick Wolf or Grizzly Bear.

-SEAN CRAIB-PETKAU