Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine debut from hard to categorise Oxford quintet, 14 Jun 2008
Youthmovies, formerly Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies have been around in one form or another for some time; their first single being released way back in 2003. However the release of Good Nature, their first full-length album, is timely as their links to the `band of the moment' Foals (Youthmovies singer and guitarist Andrew Mears was a founding member of Foals) and their accomplished live appearances have raised their profile considerably in recent months.
Good Nature comprises ten tracks over 60 minutes and in many ways further develops the sound of previous 2005 mini-album `Hurrah! Another Year...'. Elements of metal, jazz, punk and pop are blended in a way that is quite unique. Some tracks are relatively straightforward; lead single The Naughtiest Girl Is A Monitor for example, whilst others are far more `off-kilter' and (whisper it) progressive; music this dense really requires repeated listens for the complex melodies and hooks to emerge. The addition of Sam Scott on brass has allowed for a noticeably more ambitious sound and song structure.
Youthmovies rightly have a reputation as a compelling live act; fans will recognise much of this material as it has been played and refined live over considerable time; many of the tracks selected for Good Nature have appeared in radically different forms on the three volumes of `Homeless Musics' previously available as CD-Rs at their gigs.
Youthmovies' eclecticism is reflected in the array of bands they've toured and collaborated with; 65daysofstatic, Foals, Dead Meadow, Adam Gnade (with whom they released the intriguing `Honey Slides' mini-album in 2007), Hope Of The States, and ¡Forward, Russia! amongst others. Ant Theaker, former guitarist with the now defunct Hope of the States produced the album, whilst it was engineered by the god-like genius that is Bob Weston.
This certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, but is an accomplished debut, which rewards repeated plays. My only major criticism would be the poster, that came with my copy of the album; a truly awful painting that wouldn't look out of place on the front of a Marillion album.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Nature - Great Album, 21 Feb 2009
Good Nature is an astonishingly good album from a superbly talented bunch of guys. I couldn't wait to hear what they would do on a full length after enjoying time and time again the tracks of their EP.
This is more mature sounding record than the EP. None of the tracks are alike and they clearly draw influences from a wide range of artists current and past. There are element of rock / jazz / math / and ambient but thats doesnt really describe the mishmash of styles... some bands would struggle to turn all these influences into an album that makes sense
but Youthmovies have made a cohesive and thoroughly enjoyable album.
Good Nature is brilliant, and recommended for people who appreciate inventive original music.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Ace, 29 Nov 2008
I bought this album on whim, having vaguely heard 'the pitch and yaw of satelites'(an old track from the days when the band still went by the vastly superior moniker of Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies) some time ago.
Although some tracks took me longer to get into than others, this is a testament to the quality and depth of the songs. The 'naughtiest girl is the monitor' and 'last night of the proms' being the two tracks that really drew me; the former is very catchy, reminiscing about schooldays, 'ridiculous jeans' and 'rage against the machine as stock listening'; the latter has an absolutely boss riff, and to my mind subtly suggests that flag waving Prom-goers are fascists ('put your armbands on') while lamenting the lost potential of the country ('this new jerusalem / was never jerusalem').
Outside these standout tracks, though, deeper listening rewards you with some absolute gems. The album manages to be both sing-a-long and proggy at the same time. No mean feat, I'm sure you'll agree. The beautiful 'Archive it everywhere' includes some quite lovely imagery in its lyrics; "and if your breathing becomes narrow / i'll shut off the glare and make these dusty shafts of light depart ... if there's dust in the breeze and your alveoli/ those cauliflower sea anenomies contract / and make your visting breaths become shallow"
Elsewhere, Canulee has some genius percussion - I dare you to listen to the song without air-drumming. It's just not possible for any right thinking person.
In general, the excellent (if I'm any judge of brass musicianship. Which, obviously, I'm not) trumpet work gives Youthmovies another dimensions - the beginning of So-and-So and So-and-So being a prime example.
Check them out live too. Apart from their insistence in indulging the awfull adam gnade, they put on a damn good show.
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~ Foals
~ TV on the Radio
~ Fuck Buttons
~ MGMT
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