The Young Hearts - Somewhere Through The Night

 

I do like The Young Hearts. I reviewed their second EP and also their debut album which you can find here. I've often written about how Pop Punk gets a bad rep. It is not all about robotic voices and riffs you've heard countless times and there isn't a pair of half pants in sight.

The best of that genre have crossed boundaries into Power Pop and beyond. The Young Hearts are a great example of this, they have not forgotten their roots, yet have expanded their sound through Power Pop towards an Indie Rock vibe, a little American maybe.

They have managed this without losing any of the melody, big riffs and anthemic choruses. They are a corking quartet and the UK provides little competition to what they master. Blessed with a killer rhythm session, a great guitarist and a front man who ensures that the melody and harmony doesn't subside, despite the frantic pace.

Just listen to the opening riff of The Way Back and tell me it doesn't hook you. They even get a little Celtic instrumentally on the slower, Our Hometown. A Charmed Society is very Green Day. I saw a review site note the band as Americana and was completely amused.

Passenger is a little Americana and a wonderful other side to the band, but it feels more Folk than Americana and there certainly isn't anything else that fits that genre. Then there is the title track which closes the album splendidly.

That closer is great Pop Rock, not as full on as what has largely gone before, if it had a little less pace, it might even sneak into Classic Rock.  It even adds Piano and Sax. You can imagine The Young Hearts being formidable live. Their second album is full of hooks and choruses. They are really good at what they do.

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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The Young Hearts - The Modern State

 

Back in late 2017, I reviewed The Young Hearts' EP, Honestly I'm Just Thinking. You can read that here. Now that the band's full length debut is with us, it is great to see that they have not lost any of the promise of that EP. It is also a chance to reflect on the mistaken impression that the older audience have of Pop Punk. 

The Young Hearts are not Pop Punk. Although their roots are in it, they are still lumped in with the genre. There's also nothing wrong with that, except music fans think there is. It used to be that people saw the word Punk and ran. Now it is more than that. The genre is held back by an impression of baggy half pants and automated robotic, almost talking, singing. A thought that it is a young man's game that should not be your cup of tea. A Leave it down wiv da kidz attitude.

It is worth noting that the genre has moved on and there is not much left of it. This opinion on yoof is a misidentification. The early adopters of the genre are now approaching middle age and the scene has developed into a showcase of more every day talent. Very much as I am associated with Power Pop writing, but write little about True Power Pop these days, so Pop Punk bands are still associated with the word "Yo".

You can tell that The Young Hearts roots were in Pop Punk, but they have grown into one of the best UK Indie Guitar bands and let's face it, there are few of those about at the moment. The UK Music obsession with algorithms and preaching that the Guitar is dead is proved unfounded when you hear an album as good as this. 

Here are 11 songs that are built on melodic riffs and big choruses. These four can play and do so at an almost breakneck pace. The choruses are memorable and become ear worms. Guitar solos hit the spot without, thankfully, ever being plank spanking.

If you want something slower, here's Swim, a song that threatens to break out in to something almost Celtic. Anchors is another example of suitable moodiness with a wonderful organ run. You can even get your Lighters out, if you can find them amongst the Vape Liquid collection, to the title track.

But it is that pace that suits the band best and that'll be demonstrated if live venues ever reopen. Songs such as Wild And Restless and Easy Life get those fists pumping and London is a gem of a song. The Modern State isn't a Pop Punk offering, it is a great Guitar album. Proof that the Guitar isn't dead and the UK is also about real instruments.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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The Young Hearts - Honestly I'm Just Thinking EP

The Young Hearts kill two birds with one stone here at IDHAS. I'm always bemoaning how few UK Power Pop bands are breaking through. I'm also dismayed at how many people lump new bands with Alt Rock, EMO or Pop Punk.

Kent's The Young Hearts fashion up their second EP and it's full of Power Pop goodness. If Bloom was released by Butch Walker, Power Pop fans would be wetting themselves. Smoke compares with anything the likes of a grown up Busted or McFly would muster.

This EP compares favourably with anything coming out of the States at present. If there's a comparison, they remind me a lot of vintage Downtown Fiction or Everybody Else. This is great chorus driven guitar pop and should be appealing to a much older market.

The closer, October is brooding and hints at what more can be achieved in the future, it's like a popped up Muse. Honestly I'm Just Thinking is a great listen and I'm delighted to discover this lot. I look forward to what's coming up in the future.

The 4 Track EP can be bought as a download at all the usual places. The Physical version has a limited run here. It's well worth the effort, I expect to hear far more of this lot.