Young And Sexy "Panic When You Find It" (Mint)
By Kimberly Rosenbauer
Friday. Feb 10, 12:44 AM
Male / female harmonies galore!

Let’s talk about girls and boys. Let’s talk about harmonies. Let’s talk about Canadian band Young And Sexy. Sounding vaguely like Mates Of State with the impeccably complementing voices of Paul Pittman and Lucy Brain, but much more soft and soothing, this group is already on its third and latest album, Panic When You Find It.

Although most tracks on the album may divert one’s attention to simpler vocal melodies backed by cymbals and gently plucked guitar, you can easily hear multiple layers of music when the rest of the five-member band come in. Sound effects, trumpet, and piano spice up the group’s sound along with its dream-like vibes.

Note that the album doesn’t begin with an especially strong track so as to not grab you in all that quickly (“Your Enemy’s Asleep”). Pittman’s and Brain’s harmonies are predominant in this one, but so are dragging ethereal guitars until a whole 1.5 minutes in, when the song gets a little faster, adds some more beat, and becomes more melodic and memorable. All the same, the listener is soon is able to appreciate Young And Sexy’s signature style.

Next up, “The Curious Organ,” is truly one of the best: lively and laden with accented guitar lilts and scales. It has a fantastic build-up about 2/3rds through the song with trumpet, drums, and guitar until the chorus which only adds to the charge of energy as the lyrics explain “and all I’ve done, is all I will do…” The vocal line is catchy and has serious earworm-potential.

But of course, cynicism says there has to be a problem… and there is a minor one: the rest of the album can become redundant. Mostly slower songs, similar vocal and guitar melodies, and more than not, most of the other songs abandon the impressive harmonies between the leads we heard earlier and only use one voice at a time.

Fear not, for shining moments do still exist. Absolutely. For instance, “Without Your Love” is mostly slow and lounge-night-at-the-local-supper-club-esque, but has an emotionally building chorus with Brain belting out her lyrics over attention-grabbing distorted guitar. “Turn on Your Weakness” is an acoustic-sounding, short, and clear-cut version of “The Curious Organ” using the same lyrics, but sung only by Pittman. It is quite beautiful and the contrast to the first, faster, and more radio-ready version is a unique idea and works well.

Overall, Young And Sexy did it for me. They show innovation with sounds, layering, and beautiful harmonies, though I wanted more of the latter! I also craved that last bit of energy from this group that I know it possesses deep inside and shows in a chorus every now and then. Let’s face it: slow tracks are more challenging and exposing but not as fun. More tracks like the first two might bring in a few more fans and also guarantee I don’t fall asleep and miss my train stop on my commute.
www.youngandsexy.org
www.mintrecs.com

Kimberly Rosenbauer

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