Youthmovies – Barfly, Cambridge, 10/10/07

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Youthmovies seem as though they’ve been around for a while. Formed back in the distant past of 2003, it’s taken them a while to fully realise their sound. Their debut album, after a few CDR’s, mini albums and EP’s, will be released at the beginning of next year. In an age in which the record industry needs bands to be an instant success, Youthmovies are the perfect antidote. Of course, shredding their name to a more comfortable and typable length from Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies will help. Tonight I get the chance to catch them live, properly, for the first time. I’ve championed them for a while but, having been completely wiped out when I caught them at ATP this year, tonight will be my first proper chance to enjoy their live show.

Initially though, I’m mesmerised by Adam Gnade. I’d heard some of his songs via the ubiquitous Myspace page previously, but they didn’t really prepare me for his brutal and honest live performance. Playing only a banjo throughout, it was refreshingly simple. His hauting lyrics channeling everything Steinbeck, but placing it firmly in the now. Wondering from the stage and into the, very sparse, crowd with no amplification, his quivering vocals and closed eye-stance made it look like he was in some kind of trance, dragging these songs out of the very bottom of his heart. “Bruce was right, Johnny was wrong, baby we were born to run” was one of the many lyrical gems from his set, lyrics that both trouble and reassure the listener. His heartfelt tales of modern America were rich, open and raw but his short and sharp set was over all too soon.

Sticking with the theme of solo performances was House of Brothers. The free mp3 you can download from his site suggested something grander and more layered, but tonight it’s just Andrew Jackson and guitar. Asking for more reverb on his vocals before he launched into his set, I was always going to love his set. But I didn’t think I’d love it as much as this. With an acoustic guitar as his companion, it was his hushed and reverbed vocals that really got inside your head. Like a mix between M. Ward, Nick Drake and John Martyn, his tales of sorrow, love and loss mesmerised the entire crowd. These simple and hauntingly beautiful songs were laid bare for everyone to witness, his intricate guitar playing offering periods of instrumental seclusion from this emotional edge. Once again, his set seemed really short – the crowd were certainly up for more of his songwriting. In an age where people like James Blunt and all those other singer-songwriters prevail, it takes someone like Jackson to make you realise what real songwriting is all about.

After those two quiet and emotional bands, Youthmovies came as a bit of a shock to the system. Their particular take on math / post-rock is a convulsing mass of noise interspersed with vocals and more intricate, indie-esque passages. It’s as if they approach a song from three different directions; the mad post-rock riffs of the intro, the quiet, almost emo introspective middle, and the final passage of math-rock intricate guitar riffs. The trumpet is a novel addition, squealing and piercing through the guitars like a solitary figure awash on a sea of noise. Each song feels as though it deconstructs through it’s expression, unravels as the group plays on. They have plenty in common with Battles, but have more underlying tunes than them. They’ve not lost the penchant for pop, even if it is hidden between the bricks of their post-rock wall of sound.

The band do seem oddly subdued this evening though, mentioning it later in their set when they admit to have “quarter tour blues”. Whilst I enjoy their set, I feel let down. There’s something missing from their performance, an energy or an element that they have on record but sadly lack this evening. It’s only when they’re joined by Adam Gnade for a track from their collaborative EP release last year, does something spark into life. Gnade’s righteous proclamations, spoken into the microphone as if he’s been possessed by a Baptist minister on a Sunday in the American South are a brilliant counterpoint to Youthmovies mass of guitars and piercing riffs, the entire crowd suddenly resuscitated. But then it ends. It suddenly hits me as to what’s missing. Youthmovies can’t write “songs”. Their art lies in making their layered cacophony of sound. When they break down into their lyrical moments, it misses the mark. The vocals don’t add anything to the song, it just reminds me of one of the endless emo bands who wow the Kerrang! crowd. With Gnade’s off the wall delivery and lyrical prowess they’re raised out of this dirge and become a shining beacon of something brilliant and inspiring.

Links
Cambridge Barfly [official site] [myspace]