Let's start at the most logical place: The singles. Young London released their first single, "Let Me Go", cold turkey, with almost no promotion, and it wound up on the front page of iTunes Pop page. With a little help from me (as well as a friend of mine, Popsessed) the blogging community gained a particular interest in them. "Let Me Go" was the strongest of the three singles released by the duo. It is a very euro-dance style of song, and a standout as far as the album goes. There is no song on the album that quite sounds like this one.
The other two singles didn't feel as strong. "Celebrity" was the weakest of the three (ironically containing the least Sarah. Coincidence!?) but still over-all a good track. While catchy, it was definitely flagged for having overly simple lyrics. The third, and so far final one, "New Reputation", was a nice change of pace from the previous two. Much more experimental in it's back beats, but still a good taste of what Young London is all about, it was the perfect way to kick off the album.
The non-singles are really where the feel of the album start to shine. Once you make it past the first three songs, you are treated to the best thing on this entire album, and maybe even the world, "Be My Radio." This song is an explosion of pop awesomeness. A cute love song with an even cuter metaphor, this one will definitely have you hooked to it in no time. It is a mash up of all the best things the 80s had to offer, and wrapped it up with a nice pretty 00's electopop bow.
There are a few spots on the album that are less than amazing. "Summer Valentine" takes the album from full throttle to mid-tempo, and I'm not sure how welcome it was. It certainly features a more vocal side to the two, but it's over proscessed beat distract the listener, and some of the effects on the vocals can lead to some painful results when played at high volumes. I had similar beef with the song "Trippin Up," as it goes on a complete tangent, from 90's pop to 90's alternative/rock. The change wasn't one I really was into, as it differed too far from the over-all feel of the album. Negative stuff out of the way, I will allow myself to get back to talking about how amazing this album is.
The two previous songs aside, the rest of the album is incredibly strong. "Dangerous" is one of the most addicting songs on the album. It may not catch your eye at first, as it suffers from "Middle of the Album Syndrome" (Aka "I'm getting bored listening to the same thing over and over"), but once you listen to it on your own, you will realize it is genius. "The Good Stuff" falls prey to this as well. When you are listening to the album straight through, it may blend in with the rest of the song, but alone, it is truly one of the better tracks.
Two of the songs I was most looking forward to showed up on the album. In my interview with Matt and Sarah, they gave me some insights, and it looks like they weren't joking about how hilarious "Whipped" was. The song is all about a friend of theirs who is wrapped around his girlfriend's finger. They said they hoped that he never heard the song, but I think he may have by now. This song will have you singing along with Sarah's "Got-got-got-got-got you under the gun" every time.
The other song they talked up was "U Got Me." This song is a true stand out, despite earlier opinions I had on it. Its a more laid back song, and definitely the ballad they had been promising. I had been told they were really pushing for this to be a single. I hate to say it, but I'm glad it wasn't. It is an amazing song, but it might have given people the wrong idea for the album. This is the only track like it on the entire album, so it might have given people the impression the album would be filled with more tracks like this. Despite this, I really love the song, and honestly, I would love to hear more songs like this from the duo in the future.
Young London's debut is pure pop perfection. Like every work of art, it has it's flaws, but I don't think a bit of awkward song placing or a couple of sound experimentations that didn't add up as well as they might have can stop this from being one of my favorite albums. Matt and Sarah play off of each other very well, and their voices compliment each other nicely. Even after being pushed back three months, I still firmly believe this was worth the wait. Hell, "Be My Radio" was worth waiting an eternity. Oh god. I'mma go listen to it a few hundred more times now.
Buy the album on iTunes! We need to get this back into the top 100! We need to get it to number 1!
Young London is without a doubt an up and coming band. I love the fact that they are a real band that appears to play in full live. For real, they have a sound second to none. If you like Dance / Pop music you will love this. the female singer is amazing! From the pictures she is not bad to look at either. Song Whipped is rad.
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