Young Galaxy
Ultramarine
Reviewed by Stephen Krock
While listening to Young Galaxy’s newest album, I found myself seeing stars, floating serenely through space toward some distant beam of light. The title, Ultramarine, is as suitable a moniker as the band name itself. Young Galaxy’s dreamy electronic backdrops, meshed with lead singer Catherine McCandless’ wistful vocals, create a mood that feels distant and icy cold as space, yet somehow hopeful. Mood is the word of the day here. There are little to no catchy hooks to be found in Ultramarine, but the tracks do create a certain air, a certain color, that permeates the wrinkles in your brain. For me, that color was, fittingly enough, ultramarine.
It’s difficult to single out tracks as they are somewhat indistinguishable from each other. However, it does make for a very cohesive album; the songs could meld together perfectly into one long space opera. Albeit with a variation of movements. We launch (wisely) with “Pretty Boy,” one of the poppier tracks that is sure to have the indie crowd dancing in their Chucks. As the album’s first single, “New Summer” is equally triumphant in spirit, but dissonant and softer in sound. For a more guttural, pulse quickening rendition of “New Summer,” you can check out the Doldrums remix streaming on the band’s official website. Other standouts, for better or worse, include “Fall For You,” with its iffy calypso feel (worse), and the slightly eastern sounding “Out the Gate Backwards” (better).
McCandless carries the album nicely with vocal chords that hypnotic power of Florence Welch, but the comforting restraint of Enya (which I mean in the best way possible). She doesn’t do much to stretch her voice here, but the dreamlike mood of Ultramarine doesn’t call for it.
While none of the songs are bad, far from it, the fact that they all sound similar is ultimately a detractor.
Rating: 
