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

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.

really though I would be willing to defend an entire album's worth of this girl's vocals based solely on the "oh SPARE me toDAY" in "We Have Everything"

(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)

O.T.M.

Really enjoying this album. Makes me wish Lissvik will produce the next Junior Boys album for some reason.

"Cover Your Tracks" and the Lissvik version of Fever Ray's "When I Grow Up" had me thinking about how awesome a Studio-produced album from The Knife would be.

i wish my problem with the vocals only came down to my "perceived connotations of 'indieness'" because then i might actually be able to get over it and come to love that album as much as i really, really want to. that breathy warble to her voice just sounds sooo affected, it just grates on me.

hey lex yr vocals are really annoying

Yes, after hearing "cover your tracks" I also look forward to a lissvik-produced The Knife Album!

Standout tracks so far are 'High and Goodbye', which is a haunting, eerie and dark song with a piano outro to simply die for. And 'B.S.E.' which starts out like a Kim Wilde track, and undergoes a monumental transformation in the middle of the song... Wow. Such a great, fascinating record.

speaking of vocals: really love the part where the dude goes "we've lost our eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehh" and I always think he's gonna say "edge" b/c of LCD Soundsystem but instead he just keeps going "eeeeehhh-uh-ehhhhh-uh-ehhhhh" and then finally like four bars later he goes "eeeeeeeehhhh-uh-essence"

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

― gr8080, Thursday, February 3, 2011 1:06 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark

That doesn't happen to be B.S.E. does it? In which she sings "Black Swan Event" (BSE)? :-)

I think the female vocals are fab tbh

I assume that gr8080 was referencing the lines in the last song about sprouting feathers and shit

this is a pretty good record, love the grooves, vocals range from 'good' to 'just there'

otm

if you're letting the vocals impede your enjoyment of this awesome musical experience then i feel bad for you son

splendid tray of sounds, and i love the vocals, both male and female. she suits the 80s romanticism especially well. listened to (watched) "we have everything" three times in a row. great video

Female vocalist strikes me as a mixture of Annie Lennox, Pat Benatar and early Sarah McLachlan - not amateurish!

i want to like this record, i really do. but the truth is that there are aspects of the lissvik/studio aesthetic that i prefer more than what they're exploring here and i'll leave it at that until i give this a real chance to sink in (i came completely full circle on the little ones remix, so i'm definitely not ruling out the possibility of changing my mind).

annie lennox is a good comparison, and that makes me want to like this even more. especially since divisive vocals are so common amongst great balearic records almost by definition

Oh man. I really love this!

and I like the female vocals

I really really love this. The vocals are definitely the weakest link, but I'd rather hear the female vox than the guy.

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

― gr8080, Thursday, February 3, 2011 1:06 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark

That doesn't happen to be B.S.E. does it? In which she sings "Black Swan Event" (BSE)? :-)

― LBI clearly believes the cat is gone (Le Bateau Ivre), Saturday, February 5, 2011 12:19 AM (2 days ago)

No, I see what gr8080 is talking about. The final track, the title track, has lyrics like "feathers push through my skin", "creature of change", and "I am shapeshifting". I can totally see what he was getting at.

i mixed 'peripheral visions' into a set last wknd & it went ovr p well

still not ~totally~ sold on this but i think its got some really great tracks at least

For what it's worth, within like 5-10 listens to that first posted track, we have everything, the vocals have gone from "eh" to perfect.

Female vocalist strikes me as a mixture of Annie Lennox, Pat Benatar and early Sarah McLachlan - not amateurish!

― Tim F, Friday, February 4, 2011 10:25 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

she sounds like the chick from the cranberries!

anyway i think i might like this more without vocals. this & the new destroyer & the new cut copy are all terrific albums getting dragged down (for me) by irritating (to me) vocals

I agree about all of those LP's. On all the music is great but vocals grate too much to repeat listens. Wonder if this will be the next pthfrk bnm to complete the trifecta?

why does this trend for indie balearica exist. don't want it, won't see it.

Lex, you do realise that the first balearic revival thread on ILX was actually the Studio thread, right?

Between Studio and A Mountain of One, balearic revivalism was always already indie.

i never liked a mountain of one precisely because of the vocals :(

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