Long Walk Home - Youism
Rating
RIYL
The Grand Silent SystemClann Zu
Aereogramme
Immune
Tracklist
1. Youism2. After Consent
3. In Her Words
4. Dear Kitty
5. I Belong To The Sky
6. Open To End
7. Gone
8. Silence
9. Agent Orange
10. Fourth Act
11. Leader
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A lot of people still don’t know it, but Australia is home to some really great experimental rock. Long Walk Home now steps up to join the ranks of The Grand Silent System (RIP?), Cog, and .hinge. With these guys in the fold, the opportunity is greater than ever for widespread fame outside of Silverchair.
Just as this Melbourne group’s debut seemingly flew onto the scene from out of nowhere, Youism is the type of album that a listener, casual or connoisseur alike, spontaneously buys after hearing the first or second song on their myspace page. As impulsive as sampling their music can make you, it does nothing for proper preparation for the diverse voyage that makes up this stellar recording. Simply put, Long Walk Home is the type of band that has a resonance and style that flexes across a myriad of musical ranges and influences. Even better, this intelligently written opus is as brilliantly executed as it is inspired, creating an early candidate for the top essentials for the entirety of the year.
At first listen, the back-elements used to create Youism are quite obvious. Nevertheless, still trying to typecast these Aussies’ music is close to impossible. Bassist Michael Robb delivers bounding lines that truss with drummer Aidan McLaren’s staccato rhythms in an effort that calls to mind the visceral sections of Tool’s music. Mandolin player Jake Bovill plucks sharp notes of an over-elevated pitch which often seesaws between traditional alternative chords and scattered traces of folk guitar, not unlike those that frequent artists like DeVotchKa. This is all within mixing it up with dashes of fluttering ambiance and the type of violin hymns that have become a post-rock mainstay. Top it off with vocalist Charles Canh’s amazing range that rises, falls, and echoes in haunting, off-color accompaniments at will, and you’ve got yourself one hell of an adventurous romp.
It’s certainly an awe-inspiring exhibition to have a sound remain so smooth despite constantly be so all over the place in the pithy bravado that make up the album’s tunes (most are barely above 3 minutes). Yet, Long Walk Home always manages to execute with excellence. The streamlined jams tinged with brooding lyrics of “Gone” and “After Consent” boaster the band’s mastery of the hard rock visage, while Canh’s soaring cries cradle the gentle vibrancy of “In Her Words” and the fiddle-driven “Open to End.”
In the midst of these guys already doing just about everything right, the band’s investigational tinkering leads to some unexpected, but more than welcomed results. “Dear Kitty,” easily one of the album’s strongest tracks (if not the best), sets a reverb-esque, half-hidden twist on Canh’s expressive singing. This exertion, dueling against the music’s acidic, sporadic groove creates a faux techno aura that could loosely fit into any ecstasy-enthused rave. Oddly, the results make you want to dance when you shouldn’t. And it must be said that watching this reviewer’s wife bounce her triple-d cans to the cadence of this song’s climax while completely butchering the words is a hilarious spectacle that never gets old -- among other things.
But even though it’s probably not the band’s intentions to get your ass shaking like this is some Franz Ferdinand single, one facet of Youism is undeniably certain. Long Walk Home manufactured an invention of art-rock that they want the world to take notice of and never forget. Even if rightful attention doesn’t get rewarded to them, this album is an astounding discovery.
--MJ Austin
Comments
Tucson, AZ
I enjoyed the Franz Ferdinand burn at the end.
"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against
Dallas, Texas
Believe me when I tell you it's far funnier than it is erotic. Sorta’ anyway.
But this isn’t the first extremely off-color behavior my better half displays when I play something she really likes. Form example, she has an “interpretive dance” worked out to the entirety Dredg’s El Cielo. It’s side-splittingly funny to see when we are alone, but I had to threaten to leave her at home when she was serious about performing it at the last show that rolled through here.
Anytown USA
You play to win the game.
Sacramento, CA
I'm not here to make things better; only to observe and pass judgement.
Anytown USA
You play to win the game.
Dallas, Texas
Contradiction city.
Ben is loco.
Sacramento, CA
I'm not here to make things better; only to observe and pass judgement.
Sacramento, CA
I'm not here to make things better; only to observe and pass judgement.