Editorial Reviews ~Chris Walla, Death Cab For Cutie
Skeleton Jar
Music Review:
Music Review
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Music: The Partying Without Inhibition or Dignity
Caetano, Gal, Gil & Bethania [Import]
Early Years of Brilliance: 1928-1940
Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (Edition Bachakademie Vol 112) /Koroliov (piano)
Amazon.com
Sporting a hearty endorsement from emo-rock hero Chris Walla, the debut record from Australia’s Youth Group is extremely easy to like. It’s sunny and sad like all good emo, as lead singer/songwriter Toby Martin’s melodies float around in a hazy kind of heartache. Sounding a bit (as you might expect) like Death Cab For Cutie, with a side of early James and a dash of Coldplay, Skeleton Jar isn’t perfect; there’s a sameness of structure and tempo, and you get the sense Walla shaved off one too many rough edges in the studio. Still, Martin writes with warmth and intelligence, and the band is limber enough to tackle a range of textures and emotions, dealing equally well with quick, bright choruses ("Shadowland") and more extended dramas (the lovely "See-Saw"). A promising release. – Matthew Cooke
From the Artist
"Skeleton Jar is sweet and dear and genuine in a world stolen by cynics. And Youth Group are masterful at avoiding the mire, the bleeding heart dreck that drove people to irony in the first place. Put simply, Youth Group gets it. If you don’t love them your heart is dead."
Album Description
Youth Group are at the forefront of an exciting new era in Australian alternative music. They have the pop of The Posies, the articulate desire of The Red House Painters and Death Cab For Cutie, the rock of The Pixies, and the angst of Bright Eyes. "Skeleton Jar" is the band's second album and the first to be released in the US. Left field, yet highly emotive lyrics navigate their way across varied landscapes of pop, folk, and indie rock terrain. The beauty of this album is that every note is well-placed, every strum thought through, economic in the precision of the pop-coated anger. If the darkened cover and alienated art work don't tip you early, this is a dark album. Tightened, taut even, Toby Martin's unmistakably melancholic voice remains pure and potent throughout.