Album Review
Communion (Deluxe Edition) by Years & Years – Released
Friday 10th July 2015
Years & Years started off 2015 in a wave of publicity
when they were announced as the winners of the BBC’s Sound Of… poll in January.
Former winners of the accolade include: Keane, Adele, and Ellie Goulding who
have all gone on to enjoy successful careers and produce high quality albums.
The wave of publicity became one of tidal proportions in February when they
were nominated for the Critics Choice award at the Brits, narrowly missing out
to James Bay . A number one single, King, soon followed and earlier this
month they missed out on another when Shine
entered the chart at number two. Now the band has released their debut album to
a similar level of expectation. No pressure then.
The band is amongst the first to take advantage of the new
Friday global release date, the long term effect of this remains to be seen,
but it may be another talking point when considering the potential success of
the album.
The trio is fronted by former actor Olly Alexander, Emre
Turkmen provides synths and Australian Michael Goldsworthy adds bass, drums and
percussion to the band’s sound.
Opening track Foundation
has a darker, more minimalist feel to most of the tracks on the album with the
musical score bubbling gently under the surface. The majority of the tracks are
up-tempo with only Eyes Shut and Without drifting into piano balladry. It
is not necessarily a bad thing; the lyrics are some of the most poignant on the
record, both songs show the versatility and range of the band’s sound without
diversifying to far from the path of the album. However the band is at their
strongest on the energy driven tracks such as the addictive King and their most recent single Shine is irresistible.
Lyrically honest, although not taxingly complicated, the songs
are fairly well constructed with synths and beats offsetting yet complimenting
the vocals; Olly’s falsetto provides emotion to the songs by being gentle but
powerful.
The deluxe edition has four additional tracks including 1977 which is slow-burning and sensual,
and two acoustic songs bring the album to a slower but satisfying conclusion.
It is a record which does not overly surprise the listener
but rarely fails to delight. The album is nothing more or nothing less than it
pretends to be: bright, uplifting electro-pop. However, it is unclear whether
the band will stick to the more hard hitting sounds or enter into a slower
paced vibe; for this they must be cautious; there is a fine line between
credible pop and clichéd boyband territory.
Years & Years have produced one of the most joyous
albums of 2015 so far. In a sea of overly serious singer-songwriters and R&B
blandness they are a breath of fresh air. Hopefully they can maintain this
momentum for Years & Years to come.
Key Tracks: Shine, Take Shelter, King, 1977
7/10
