On Young Galaxy's 3rd full length record, 2011's Shapeshifting, they opened up an entirely new (to them) bag of tricks. Some chalk it up to the production work of Dan Lissvik of Swedish electronic duo Studio, taking their powerful songwriting chops and applying a wash of warm synths and naturalistic percussion. There is no doubt that the songs themselves were more than just window dressing, though. This band of upstarts from Vancouver who made grand-gesture psych-pomp their home had traded in their West Coast consciousness for modern Montreal cool.
Their new record, Ultramine, (the band's 4th album and 2nd for Toronto mega-indie label Paper Bag Records) feels like Shapeshifting's direct sequel: opener "Pretty Boy" has the same mid-tempo uplift with vague lonesome undertones as the last record's breakout track "We Have Everything"; "Fall For You" has the same slinky nautical authority of the last record's "For Dear Life". Everything feels like further exploration of previously covered ground, like going back to a place you love so you can bring back more than pictures this time. When Catherine McCandless sings "my skin is new and shining / it may be hard to tell" on the hushed, pulsating "Hard To Tell", she could be making an album statement.
This is not a bad thing.
If there's one thing Shapeshifting accomplished beyond it's catchy hooks and the recasting of a great-band-in-the-making, it instilled the desire for more. It seems to have instilled that same desire in the band, who turned to Dan Lissvek once again for the album's production, but opted to up the ante by recording with him in person in Gothenburg to enhance their collaborative power. The resulting 40 minutes of charming pop is a cold popsicle box of new flavours for Young Galaxy: Giorgio Moroder-esque basslines ("What We Want"), prom night slow jams ("Sleepwalk With Me"), and 90's acid-tinged piano riffs ("Out the Gate Backwards").
Like all of my favourite summery music, Ultramarine drowns the senses in sun-kissed, sweetly sweaty warmth even in the cold of night. This is road trip music you save to listen to until you've reached your destination. Which, if you're Young Galaxy, you just might have done.
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