Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting (2011) ~*produced by Studio's D. Lissvik*~

can't wait

Really feeling this on first listen. Love that album cover too.

streaming here: http://exclaim.ca/#albumoftheweek

love the woozy Studio-esque intro/backing track to "Peripheral Visionaries".

great record

very nice

Listening now, 4 tracks in. I quite like this. Young Galaxy were a band I'd unfairly pegged as being vaguely peripheral Stars/Broken Social Scene adjacent inheritors due to their first LP being on Arts & Crafts. This takes the best of what I'd heard from them with gorgeous gorgeous Lissvik stuff. "We Have Everything" sounds like a disco-house remix classic waiting to happen.

Cool new psychedelic animated video. V "Paranoid Android".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgWyQ0Xwd4&feature=player_embedded

their first LP

I loved "The Alchemy Between Us" which closed that record out, but thought the rest was kinda in one ear/out the other (and thought that about the entire second record). This new one is superb, thanks in no small part to Lissvik I imagine.

is this the dude from think about life?

epic

haha when i heard this yesterday was thinking that gr8080 wld be so into this

hi fives

would be more excited if these were all less vocal (if not vocal-less) dub versions

i think i like the dude's vocals better than the female ones but overall i don't mind either.

some dub/remix versions would be cool to hear though.

I agree with FITS, this would be miles better without the vocals. The female singer in particular is hard to listen to.

the vocals works sometimes (really like the interplay on 'peripheral visions') less so other times (cover your tracks) but i agree that a dubbier remix wld be rad

i kinda just more ~cosmic~ remixes of some of these let em strech towards the horizon

so frustrating, such great vibey production and such annoying vocals dragging it down. what kind of savages do you have to be to sing like that over music like this >:(

like the music is seriously gorgeous

i guess it's not DREADFUL, unlistenable singing...but it's still lifeless and affectless and DULL

Peripheral Visions is easily the best vocal on the album. The woman's singing style is all 'i'm very important and saying something very deep and important'. B.S.E. would be an amazing instrumental closer but unfortunately it's a song i'll probably never listen to again.

this isn't the case of uh vocals thrown over music - the music/arrangements were created around the vocals, in large part by lissvik, without feedback from the band.

i think it's lovely - forceful, much more personal than studio's stuff - but if the vocals bug you don't misinterpret this as "young galaxy fucking with the music".

Lissvik was incredibly successful using the same technique to produce Victoria Bergman's album so this is definitely a case of terrible vocals ruining otherwise spectacular music. I understand the process used but the downfall of the album is still the vocals, not the music. I guess it's Lissvik's fault for agreeing to use the vocals they provided. Also, echoing castanets are my new favorite sound.

The guy reminds me more than a bit of Kelley Polar - direct delivery, medium-thin tone, inconsistent application of vibrato, and good pitch. This is how most male singers sound before they get a lot of training and I like the effect. The woman's singing has an alt-rock tinge and a similar 'accomplished amateur' sound. I'm not sure what the problem is with either of them.

for me what's irksome isn't so much the sound of their voices but the lyrics themselves; they're dramatic to the point of parody.

lol @ the closing track making me think of The Black Swan

the female vocals are very unfortunate :(

lotta picky ppl in this thread. if the 'indieness' of the vocals is seriously ruining your enjoyment of this excellent music then I don't know what to tell you, except maybe grow a pair (of ears). but I suspect that at least a handful of y'all will eventually get over it and discover, once the stockholm syndrome sets in, that yr earlier dismissiveness was just the new 2k11 twist on the 'guilty pleasure' mindset.

The guy reminds me more than a bit of Kelley Polar - direct delivery, medium-thin tone, inconsistent application of vibrato, and good pitch. This is how most male singers sound before they get a lot of training and I like the effect. The woman's singing has an alt-rock tinge and a similar 'accomplished amateur' sound. I'm not sure what the problem is with either of them.

― skip, Wednesday, February 2, 2011 10:43 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Second and third times through this album I didn't really like it as much as I did my first go round. Time to put it away for a while and come back to it later.

god forbid we have actual standards of adequacy for vocals as well as arrangements

You guys are just making them sound like XX vocals, which are about as mumbly and flat as you can get.

xx vox a) conveyed emotion really well and b) fit their arrangements perfectly, neither of which is the case here

though if either of young galaxy had a voice of romy xx's calibre we probably wouldn't be having this discussion

Well b) is presumably Lissvick's fault?

i do blame him for agreeing to work with these people in the first place, rather than just making lovely instrumental music or maybe working with singers with a modicum of talent - tho iirc picking decent vocalists was not a studio strong point either

Lissvik's hand is definitely heavy in this. It's almost as if he's turned Young Galaxy into his own Vanity 6.

lex — I understand having "standards" but like... the vocal parts aren't demanding! and they aren't all that prominent in the mix! at the risk of cliche, they're 'just another instrument' — and I don't know what "singers with a modicum of talent" (presumably more than just carrying a tune, which, as skip points out, they both do just fine) would bring to the table, apart from the risk of upending the whole thing.

to sum up my beef in a single sentence: I feel like people here are reacting more to the perceived connotations of 'indieness' than to the actual music.

then again, I love the vocals in this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hg2qZLB5_Y
so perhaps I am just an odd duck

having come of age musically in the laptop era, I guess I've always kind of associated electronic music with (the possibility of) charmingly amateurish singing — but I don't see it as "indie" at all in either intention or results

I don't know what "singers with a modicum of talent" (presumably more than just carrying a tune, which, as skip points out, they both do just fine) would bring to the table

well, what attracts me to the music is basically the blissed-out ~cosmic~ vibes it brings - the spaciousness that you can sink into. basically it creates this perfect mood. but the ordinariness of the vocals - the lack of reach and the lack of ecstasy in them - works against that mood for me, and kind of ruins it. (cf vocalists who i think have worked really well on balearic-sounding music - christabelle, kathy diamond, qzen...)

okay, that's cool, I can understand faulting them for "lack of ecstasy" if that's what you feel the music is calling for — appreciate you taking the time to elaborate yr position!

(... but I might have to disagree with you on "We Have Everything", which is easily my favorite track so far — I think the vocals there do achieve a level of genuine ecstasy)

The bloke's vocals are fine. Also, the two duetting sound good cf. 'visionaries', but yeah, it's just a shame that the woman's vocals are foregrounded at any point. Still I am sure I will make my peace w/ them

well, what attracts me to the music is basically the blissed-out ~cosmic~ vibes it brings - the spaciousness that you can sink into. basically it creates this perfect mood. but the ordinariness of the vocals - the lack of reach and the lack of ecstasy in them - works against that mood for me, and kind of ruins it. (cf vocalists who i think have worked really well on balearic-sounding music - christabelle, kathy diamond, qzen...)

Having heard the first half of this I think you're guilty of misunderstanding what Lissvik and the band are attempting here. The vocals are totally appropriate for the music, vocalists actually SOUNDED like this in the 80s, on records that Lissvik is obviously hugely influenced by.

It's telling that the three vocalists you mention are all from the glossier and more disco-oriented end of the spectrum whereas Lissvik and Studio draw from naff 80s yacht pop and (on West Coast at least) post-punk as much if not more as they do from disco. The vibe is 'seaside wine bar' more than 'ecstacy'.

That said I'm not sure how much I like this record, the vocalists are almost too studied in their manner for the music and in there with the backing the whole thing feels a bit pastichey in a bad way.

What I'm getting I think is that you like Lissvik/Studio more that most of what they're influenced by (which is often a bit naff, kind of cheesy, and amateurish as much as it's transcendent) and then when he goes and does something like this, which is totally consistent with his whole aesthetic, you try and rationalise out the bits that you don't like when they're really part and parcel of what he's been doing all along.

if he wants to make wine bar music why can't he get sade-calibre singers in :(

Because he wants to sound amateurish! That's the whole point.

aaaargh @ the cult of amateurishness

Actually, I'd say less "amateurish" and more "democratic". The idea that anyone can get involved and you don't necessarily need to sound like Sade - exclusivity and Balearic vibes don't go well together.

(As an aside, no one who reps for Waka Flocka Flame and early grime can really go "aaaargh @ the cult of amateurishness" with any credibility)

Matt DC, you seem much more knowledgeable abt this than me, but we are basically in agreement re: the album's vibe — esp less "amateurish" and more "democratic". "cult of amateurishness" is precisely what I was trying to distance this from — they don't strike me as opposed (in principle or in practice) to expertise and polish, nor do their vocals set off my affectation-alarms; I think they're good singers who have given it their best effort (rather than e.g. cloying 'moose-whispering), and I find the end result aesthetically pleasing.

I too like this new album, more than I liked the last one.

so i guess i'm over the issues i had with the vocals four years ago, b/c i totally love their new album. i'm gonna have to go back and see if i'm into the older ones now, too.

they've really mastered these springy synthfunk grooves at this point, this is nice

Factory Flaws grabbed me right away; lacking any more esoteric points of reference, I hear it as something between Talking Heads "This Must Be the Place" and Martin Rushent-era Human League.

Now the rest of the album is growing on me.

the factory flaws - body - ready to shine run is perfect, ready to shine is vintage lissvik... those bouncy acoustic guitars, that elastic bassline, twinkling synths and chimes, mmm

i love every track on it tho tbh

Falsework bonus track:

https://soundcloud.com/paper-bag-records/young-galaxy-were-you-ever-a-dreamer-bonus-track/s-L0NIR

Not sure what to make of this:

@younggalaxy
don't mean to sound dramatic, but these upcoming shows are all or nothing for us. if ur on the fence, consider that http://www.songkick.com/concerts/25331569-young-galaxy-at-le-poisson-rouge

:-/

falsework is a great album that totally flopped

yeah it's a really good album

It seems to have gained no critical traction or discussion and I really don't understand why given that it's a distinct enough proposition from the previous two yet has the quality, and attached producer, of those albums.

i don't know if it's related to the above but they canceled their shows in L.A., S.F., and Vancouver : /

These handful of live shows are going to be stunning, and very unusual for a band at their level - highly choreographed, with elaborate lighting and set. Really hope people turn out (and critics turn up) to see the breadth of their vision what they're capable of.

i'll be at the nyc show

Falsework was my fave of the Lissvik albums.

cosign sean here on the live show, great stuff. mirrored led synth triggered obelisks and gusgus dancing. best $12 i've spent in a long time.

y'all sold me, seeing 'em next month in TO

Bought tickets to see them tonight....

About 40mins before this tweet:

https://twitter.com/subtchicago/status/695731352554074112

Had tickets to see them Wednesday night but was too tired from work to go. I feel bad.

They were really good in Toronto tonight, despite Catherine suffering from a chest cold that prompted her to stop the set and ask the crowd if they thought she sounded OK enough for the show to be worthwhile - then gritted through another 10 or so songs like a trooper.

Fuck the loud, beer-clinking bros behind me, though. An unexpected nuisance, doubly annoying because the band was relatively quiet.

https://soundcloud.com/younggalaxy/young-galaxy-stay-for-real

very good

New album in April. Not sure if Lissvik is involoved with this one

https://aestheticmagazinetoronto.com/2018/01/10/young-galaxy-announces-new-album-down-time/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRO54r-0lMI

he is in part

Oh, yay! I was worried they might have called it quits. Sounds like they came close (then changed tack entirely)

The first sample of the record arrives with lead single "Under My Wing," which Young Galaxy describe as being "about the failure of capitalism, the isolation of suburbia, and the drive to discover sensuality, connection, and a spark of life in the face of despair."

All my faves have become radicalized over time and it rules

We want to say what we want to say when and how we want to say it.

We own all Young Galaxy representations from this point onward, we are the generative source
of all its emissions.

There will be no spin, packaging or look we didn’t choose, determined by someone else’s worship of the almighty dollar/social media algorithm. We worship that deep consensus that comes with getting lost in music. We want to speak music as fluently as we’re able – by tuning in, listening, sharing coordinates, mapping the unfixed and unhinged places we all find ourselves at times. We wade in, fall apart, fail and hold up – articulate as a search for the right words for others trying to hold up, live and love.

We found ourselves at a crossroads after our last album Falsework. We felt represented inaccurately through agents, labels, and other specialists in their fields because we had
deferred to their experience and therefore their values; we just focused on the music. But we
have been packaged wrong: It’s not accurate. We’re not nice. We are fucking kind.

The truth is, we feel less and less interested in being represented by the music industry in its
current state. The routes of communication that we are expected to pump content into feel like
someone else’s, and like its values, are commercial and superficial with no subtlety in its
preferred approach. Just sledgehammer.

For us, art communicates best in nuance, vulnerability, and fluid interpretations. It can speak to
and be made by outsiders, and can access counterculture in a way the industry machine cannot. So after more than 10 years in the music business, we ended many partnerships.

As a female fronted act, popular culture has told us that we should be youthful, hip, and seductive. We felt anomalous in an industry that seemed intent on promoting The Rich, The New, The Wild. That’s NOT US. We own our age, our feminism, our human animal appetites, our role as parents, our grey hairs, rages and introspection. We call out from our autonomous, moving point in the dark because making music is a dialogue for Young Galaxy. We’re trying to reach others, we need to know where they are.

But it’s pitch dark out here and experiencing it can make you hang in pieces, be as grizzled as we are, make you wake in desire, make you rage with pain or loneliness, so we have to call out in all the ways we have and can’t let someone else do it for us.

We’ve now created and run multiple imprints to sustain our art, including our upcoming April 2018 self release of Down Time. Now, we collaborate on and co-produce all our music, artwork, photos, videos, merchandise, social media - the content and the cost of all we create is exclusively ours to bear. It is a site, an ever widening map of collective imaginings, dialogue and collaboration.

So we’re calling out. We would like your support to be heard and we need your coordinates to
Navigate.

CMcC and SR

BE A MESS
GET STRONG
THROW BRIDGES

For those of you who missed hearing our new single, here it is. We hope you like our new direction https://t.co/3PicG2aEo0

— Young Galaxy (@younggalaxy) January 11, 2018

uhmm

lmao

always rooting for these folks

[url=http://www.northerntransmissions.com/song-of-the-day/catch-breath-young-galaxy/'Catch Your Breath'[/url] is really good.

smh

Catch Your Breath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VVnTMl25uw

new record is pretty subdued but is rewarding repeated listens. there's less lissvik, i think, but no drop in quality.

seeing them tonight, psyched b/c their last tour was bananas and fantastic

Proud 2 have our friends at @gorillavsbear premiere our video for Future, made by our brilliant friend Adam Sajkowski at Hotel Sport. This is our final dispatch for the foreseeable future, as we are announcing YG’s hiatus. What a great way to go out 💙💜 https://t.co/vJf8yeaZLG

— Young Galaxy (@younggalaxy) September 24, 2018

https://popmontreal.com/en/artists/detail/light-conductor/

https://montreal.carpe-diem.events/calendar/7987237-riohv-canhota-physio-choozey-at-datcha-nite-fundraiser-at-datcha/

I slept on their (self-released?) album from last year but "Frontier" has really snuck up on me as an expansive chill jam.

Important thread from a big gentle hearted, beautiful talent. When Matt joined YG we became a band for the first time. ❤️ https://t.co/K1FuzLHd4e

— Young Galaxy (@younggalaxy) February 12, 2021

still listen to Shapeshifting all the time

new record coming w j*r•my gr••ensp•n

both the spinoff projects are very good. riches on the slow burn late galaxy vibe and light conductor doing eurorack yoga tunes.

wait new YG record!?

y

please remember your vowels and verbs, punk rockers fought steely dan to the death for your right to use them

new record coming w j*r•my gr••ensp•n

extremely bummed to check the YG twitter only to find a bunch of idiotic web3/NFT bullshit