Listen: Conner Youngblood – “Confidence”

Dallas’ Conner Youngblood delivers a shot of “Confidence”, the first teaser from his upcoming EP of the same name. Despite the song’s subtext (sample lyric: “my confidence is foiled”) Youngblood shows little fear and plenty of ambition here. As on previous releases (see “Aqua Regia”/”Amelia” and “Vegas”), the multi-instrumentalist crafts an epic sound without pretension, inviting the listener to join and revel in his personal journey.

Strings buzz and bustle as the relentless beat of the verse drives the song ever forward into the complex, multilayered psych-pop territory that Animal Collective perfected on Merriweather Post Pavilion. Things take an abrupt and welcome turn, however, as a sleepy hip-hop beat and a single guitar provide the backbone for the chorus. Youngblood’s weirdly wonderful “ohohoh” cuts through and reverberates, sounding more like a tribal chant than the work of one man.

A song that takes this many chances would leave lots of young artists with cold feet, but Youngblood again proves his ability to dabble with convention and deliver with, well, confidence.