| CD REVIEW Young Legionnaire |
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Band : Young Legionnaire Although London based band Young Legionnaire is rather new on the scene, the foundations were laid down in 2006, when Post-hardcore/ Progressive band yourcodenameis:milo started a collaborations project named Print Is Dead, whereby bands would go up to the band's studio in Newcastle and spend no longer than one day writing and recording a song for a record. George Moakes (bassist for alternative Rock act Bloc Party) was one of the guest musicians taking part in the project, recording the track “Wait A Minute”. Talks before and after the recording put an idea in the heads of Moakes and YCNI:M's singer/ guitarist Paul Mullen to do something together again in the future...but the guys' commitments meant this had to be continuously delayed. In 2007 (and with 3 full-lengths to their name) YCNI:M went on a hiatus, and Mullen joined The Automatic as singer/ guitarist, while Moakes continued with Bloc Party. The latter eventually also went on a hiatus, and when The Automatic took some time off in December 2009 (after recordings for their sophomore album), the twosome swiftly got together with drummer William Bowerman (formerly of I Was A Cub Scout and now of La Roux) to rehearse the songs they'd written in the course of some occasional writing sessions...and by the end of January 2010 YL was found playing its first London gig. When Bowerman's touring schedule with La Roux took priority, he was replaced full-time by Dean Pearson, and YL began to be a more serious project/ band. On August 16, 2010 the band released their debut double a-side single “Colossus/ Iron Dream” through Holy Roar Records, both digitally and on limited edition vinyl. To record their debut full-length album the band made use of longtime The Automatic producer Richard Jackson. After premiering the song “Chapter, Verse” through Zane Lane's BBC Radio 1 show, the band posted the song as a free download on their website (http://) younglegionnaire.com. Citing from the info sheet we got along with the (download) promo copy of the album: “the album is about volume and noise, but also something more subtle, as Gordon puts it; 'The idea was to make a big, juddering noise but weave a trail of melody through it'. He goes on; 'Even though the format of guitar, bass, drums and vocal is established, is nothing ground-breaking, the possibilities are endless. There's always another riff to write, a heavier sound to find And we're looking for the magic in the gaps between the riffs too. There's a tenderness to it, a fragility almost, that we stumbled upon, and I'm inspired by that, to explore that. The record is about the brutal, the fragile and the possible'.” Ahum...about the melody being combined with volume and noise? That statement surely goes for the first two songs on the album (“Twin Victory” and “Numbers”) which have a sound which floats between Heavy Grunge and Post-Hardcore, but I'm sure that anyone listening to the album will agree that from the 3rd song (the aforementioned “Capter, Verse”) on the guys take on a less “heavy” stance, almost a more laid-back stance too, one which even brings a certain amount of the 12 tracks on the album into a more mainstream type of Indie/ Alternative Rock! Still, I'm sure anyone having come in connection with Mullen's previous or current other band will immediately recognize his appealing and slightly heady vocal signature. Yes, might even hear quite some similarities between those bands and YL. At any rate, if you're into Post-Hardcore with a Progressive and/ or Poppy touch and great vocal melodies, you should at least check the band's sounds out. To get an idea of how YL sounds when in “louder” mode, listen to the track “Colossus” (or view its video) on the band's MySpace page (www.) myspace.com/younglegionnaire. Also posted there is the track “Iron Dream” which, just like the video to “Numbers” (on the band's own webspace, address mentioned above) is somewhere between the heavy and more melodic. If you're looking for examples of the band in its “calmer” mode, you'll have to look up the album's page at one of the trusted online sales outlets (Amazon, iTunes, etc...). 95/100 Tony. |
