Young Galaxy

Young Galaxy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arts & Crafts
• ASIN: B000OHZK4K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,265 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully intimate and affirming space rock album!, June 11, 2008

By 

Thomas W. Bell "Noisecstasy" (Manhattan, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Young Galaxy (Audio CD)

Young Galaxy is the space rock band project of Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless. They are the co-songwriters and lead vocalists in the ensemble, but it isn't really a duo. It's a six-piece and they are a band to watch. The other players are Stephen Durand, Susan Beckett, Stephen Kamp, and Pat Sayers. The album also features contributions from Arts & Crafts label mates The Dears and Stars, as well as Besnard Lakes, Patrick Watson, and A Silver Mt. Zion. Ramsay and McCandless formed the band and began recording in 2005. They released a single in 2006 then toured with The Dears. Earlier this year they released their self-titled, full-length debut.

At least one of the reasons Young Galaxy was formed was that due to Stephen Ramsay's relentless touring with Stars, he and girlfriend, Catherine McCandless were not able to spend time together. Like fellow Canadians The Dears and other bands that are, or contain, duos such as Viva Voce, they found the best way to spend time with loved ones was to form their own band together. And on this debut full-length release one can feel the love. Not just their love for each other, but you get the distinct impression that this band loves you.

Not that this is a "love" record, whatever that would be. But there is a deep sense of the organic and the spiritual in this record. And there is something intimate and personal shared between band and listener throughout. This sense smolders beneath the slow space-rock grooves and within literate lyrics. What music has inspired and influenced them is difficult to pinpoint. It calls to mind Slowdive and Galaxie 500, but also Roxy Music and Robbie Robertson. Even the album artwork conjures images of earth, water and stars along with a surreal open door into a dream world or the infinite.

Most of the tracks are electronically driven with doses of minimal guitar and atmospheric keyboard/synthesizer textures. The obvious exception to this is the acoustic and soulful "Embers," sung simply and exquisitely by McCandless. Both Ramsay and McCandless are compelling lead vocalists and when they sing together in harmony or in octaves as in the opening track, "Swing Your Heartache," it is beautifully haunting and sometimes sublime. On the surface, the song "Embers" seems not to fit with the rest of the material. But upon further hearings of the album, especially lyrically, the record would be incomplete without it.

If this album is uneven in places, it makes up for it by being astoundingly promising in others and bodes well for the future of Young Galaxy. This record utilizes images of the infinite and spiritual but is grounded in the earth in often vivid, intimate, human simplicity. Though no mere critic can say that you must own this record, it can be said that the world would be a better place if everyone listened to what Young Galaxy has to say here. Sonically and lyrically, there is something deeply refreshing and hopeful budding in this debut.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No Idea What Cale E. Reneau Is On About, October 23, 2007

By 

S. Lomeli - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Young Galaxy (Audio CD)

Just read Reneau's review and had to ask myself 'What!?'.

I always felt like the Stars and much of the output on the Arts & Crafts label was mildly interesting without holding up to repeated listening. This however is a solid effort.

I love the production by Besnard Lakes' Jace Lasek. Like the BL's Are the Dark Horse Album there is an eerie 60's sunshine pop element throughout. There's also gorgeous bits of 80's rock pomp especially in McCandless' vocal turns. This strange decade bridging reminds me of songs like Dream Academy's Life in a Northern Town.

The worst track on the album has to be 'Swing Your Heartache.' The lyrics while not necessarily philosophically offensive are over prominent suggesting a believed profundity. Like when Anakin tells us his mom says 'what's wrong with the universe is nobody helps each other out' you'll be sticking your fingers fast and far down your throat. Wayne Coyne and occassionally Conor Oberst are good at pulling this kind of thing off but it misses the mark here. Perhaps if the rest of the album surfed the same wave it would feel less so. The next weakest track is 'Embers' where you'll wander abruptly into formulaic cheeseball alt-country replete with ghost trains and deep blue oceans. 'Lazy Religion' is a nod to the let's pretend we're hippies and smoke some doobage crowd same as 'Swing Your Heartache' only musically stronger and more lyrically restrained.

The rest of the album I quite enjoy. Especially tracks 2,3,5,8,9 & 11. (Too lazy to type out.) The densest songs are typically the best. Again disagreeing completely with Reneau.

I think what's best about this album is it's pop. Great pop. Too often the indie world neglects or ignores the importance and power of pop music forsaking it to largely uncaring corporate machinery. It's got plenty prog but it boils down to pop in the end.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Vinyl-Specific Review, October 14, 2011

By 

SHIFTY507 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Young Galaxy [Vinyl] (Vinyl)

Young Galaxy's self-titled album is excellent listening with a positive and ethereal sound, and I highly recommend this album as easy-listening music that alternates across a variety of moods. Regarding the album on vinyl specifically, there were a couple issues I had that are worth mentioning (though I think it was a decent purchase overall):

1) Side B doesn't appear to have been pressed perfectly centered...the tone-arm swings from side-to-side fairly significantly when tracking the song, and is most noticeable on the tracks closest to the center of the record. This can place wear on the needle and also wears the sidewalls of the record's inner groove, and also creates a bit of noticeable distortion on some tracks.

2) My copy came with a "blip" on one of the tracks. I've cleaned the record, but it seems to be part of the pressing.

A nice thing about this album on vinyl is that the record comes with a coupon for a free digital download of the album from the company's website. So your purchase gets you a digital copy of the work, as well as the vinyl, which is nice for not having to re-purchase a copy of the album just to have a digital version. Overall I'm satisfied with this purchase and I definitely recommend this album!