Exit Youth, the debut album from this Atlanta based four piece leads the listener through a meandering world of trotting basslines, dirtily distorted guitars and cyclical drum beats.

The opening song ‘Tension’ provides exactly what the name would suggest, building from a single chord, through to a conservative bassline, drums and guitar, providing anticipation and a taster for the rest of the album.

Synthed-out keyboards provide a sonic landscape in which the other members of the band inhabit and provide their own atmosphere, helping to evoke a hazy trance, evident in the more relaxed tracks such as ‘Reviere’. Stomping basslines are a-plenty on this LP. ‘Too True’ and ‘Brevity’ are outstanding examples, with repetitive but well-placed bass riffs that beautifully accompany the intoxicating guitars.

‘Faith in Soul Pt.II’ begins curiously, with a synth pop sample of ‘Too True’, before transforming into a fast-paced blitz that gallops into the forefront, keeping you hooked thanks to the vocalist Jonathan Merenivitch preaching the lyrics with increasing ferocity.

Merenivitch’s vocal aptitude is particularly clear on ‘No Mortality’, where the vocals smoulder and fill in the gaps between a minimalistic bass and drum section. The track is somewhat let down by an oddly-placed bridge, which, although intriguing by itself, breaks the build-up that the song initially seems to aim for. The band’s self-appointed genre of “reconsider yr life decisions n’ roll”, proves very apt, with ‘Dark Surfaces’ feeling like a call to arms to change your life and face the world, before ending in a sci-fi frenzy thanks to the inclusion of a Theremin.

All in all the Exit Youth is a fine debut and the experimentation employed will likely appeal to the more avant-garde of listeners.

 

Euan McDonnell