local recorD reVieWs by kylE k ylE PEtERSEn
Yosef
Run Wild Yosef, the rock moniker for Hunter Duncan, trades in the grandiose Britpop of Radiohead and Muse, a style which depends on an acrobatic vocal presence that can stretch out syllables and lean into a wall of guitars. Fortunately, Duncan is more than up to the task, capable of misanthropic Thom Yorkestyle croons in one moment and the swooning romanticism of Keane in the next. And while the gleaming pile of anthemic guitars parts and earnest lyricism might lean a bit too heavily into Coldplay and Remy Zero territory, Duncan’s devotion to creating a grandeur and atmospheric sprawl across these seven songs sustains a mood of seriousness and sense of purpose even in those few faltering moments.
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Youth Model
Death of Paris
This pop-rock turn from longtime drummer Matt Holmes comes across as an impressive studio collaboration, with Holmes taking songwriting and composition duties but allowing Archer Avenue producer Kenny McWilliams to track bass, guitars, keys, and backing vocals to elegantly flesh out the drummer’s originals. The end result is an album that escapes feeling too generic through the fact that Holmes is an able songwriting craftsmen and an understated-yet-engaging vocalist who gets McWilliams’ hyper-polished treatment. And while Holmes borrows from a host of influences, from The Black Keys and OK Go to The Killers and Kings of Leon, he tends to be a synthesizer rather than imitator, lending Youth Model a pleasant (and surprising) sense of authenticity rather than a crass bid for mainstream success.
There’s probably a natural tendency for music criticism to champion the quirky and oddball, or the adventurous and epic, at the expense of the simple pleasures of surging choruses and indelible hooks. Particularly in a town like Columbia that hosts a relative wealth of indie rock outliers, a band like Death of Paris can feel a bit incongruous in their unabashed affection for Technicolor synth-pop songs that are more Paramore than Passion Pit, as well as their brazen bid for mainstream success. And yet, Gossip is a triumph—a six song collection that hits the nail on the head over and over again. From the adrenaline-soaked opening salvos of “Give + Take” and “Shut Up & Kiss Me” to the aiming-for-the-rafters ballads “72” and “Secret,” the band demonstrates an extraordinary adeptness for creating the kind of
All New Scars
Gossip