Young Galaxy : Out Of The Fog, Into The Clouds.

This post's gonna be short and sweet because I'm in some desperate need for sleep. Word of advice : medical student in his surgery rotation + daily music blog = a very tired individual.

But I've just got to write about yet another amazing band from the eternal fountain of talented bands that is Montreal : Young Galaxy.

Young Galaxy came to our fair city from the BC Coast to record their self-titled album at Breakglass Studios with none other than Jace Lasek, producer/member of The Besnard Lakes, in the summer of 2005 and the spring of 2006. They've also recently signed up with Arts & Crafts, home of The Dears, Stars, The Hidden Cameras and Broken Social Scene.

After listening to their album (which is available on their Myspace site), I have to admit that Young Galaxy's blend of shoegaze/dream pop, which resembles Slowdive in a way, is an acquired taste. The album's definite strength is the overall feeling of dream-like soundscapes on the more shoegaze-inclined songs such as "Swing Your Heartache" and "The Sun's Coming Up And My Plane's Going Down" Where it fails in part is on the more rock-oriented tracks, where the vocals are overshadowed by the expansive melodies.

But here, the lyrics are secondary in my opinion, it's the atmosphere of the album that really shines through. It's in a way the musical equivalent of having a out-of-body experience, slowly floating as distant voices and spacious melodies come at you from all directions. So overall, Young Galaxy's first CD is a very good listen and I'll definitely be following this band's progress because I firmly believe that they have amazing potential in the very near future.

Young Galaxy's self-titled album is due out on April 24th 2007 and they will opening for The Frames on April 21st 2007 @ Le National (buy tickets here)

So check it out will ya?