When we last we spoke to Young Galaxy frontman Stephen Ramsay here at TLOBF towers he told us that the band had written a song tentitatvely titled ‘Cauldron of Jazz- Saga of the Barf Wolf.’ Whether or not the song made it to onto sophomore release Invisible Republic we may never know, but one thing is for sure, a lot has happened in the world of Young Galaxy since then. They’ve lost a couple of members, and split from the Arts and Crafts label, who signed the band before they had even played a show.Having found a new label, and a couple of new members, the band set to work on Invisible Republic. New members Max Henry and Stephen Kamp have added a new dimension to the bands songwriting, which previously relied solely on the joint talents of Ramsay and vocalist McCandless. The band also took a different approach from their dreamy debut. The result is a more urgent, live sounding recording. It’s pop, but with a more dense sound, packed with echoing vocals, overlapping layers and surging bass lines. Opener “Long Live The Fallen World” is a glimpse of what will follow, built on chiming guitars and synths, McCandless bemoaning human kinds treatment of "the fallen world" on the brink. It’s pleasant enough in it’s way, but what makes it is when it sparks into life at the coda, building into a Kraut-pop explosion. "Oh Sister" follows, slinking along on a shifting bass line before hitting a swirling chorus, McCandless’ vocal seeming sweetly disinterested, in the way of many great eighties popstars. "Destroyer" follows, and Young Galaxy don’t so much flick the ‘epic’ button as jump up and down on it gleefully. Riffs churn, cymbols crash, keyboards whirl and Ramsay and McCandless’ vocals take turns with versus before joining forces for the killer chorus-put simply it’s as catchy as swine flu, and a million times more enjoyable.Sadly, Young Galaxy aren’t quite able to maintain the quality shown in this opening triumvirate. Invisible Republic seems to deal with big issues: Hope, Love, Despair, Redemption, Politics. For the most part the band are able to match these issues to delicate melodies, as they capably prove on the spacey "‘Light Years" and latter day Bowie-isms of "Smoke And Mirror Show". However, at times the bands ideas and ‘big’ thinking seem to get the better of them somewhat; the pretty waltz of "Pathos" and closer "Firestruck" both get bogged down with schmaltzy choirs, organ swells and OTT production. On the other hand ‘Disposable Times’ builds a hypnotic rhythm with maracas and mid-nineties keyboard stabs, but ultimately never really gets out of first gear. Despite these mis-steps Invisible Republic is a well crafted, sweeping pop record and truly worth investigating further.You can hear ‘Destroyer’ on Oh! Canada 4