GTGC Reviews
email: gavinals69@aol.com
  • Reviews
  • Live Music
  • THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE

The Dirty Youth - "Utopia"

19/9/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Back in 2015, THE DIRTY YOUTH were primed and ready to spearhead a new wave of Welsh alternative rock. Their sophomore album “Gold Dust” received critical acclaim (Including most importantly of course, my own) and fans were lapping up their evolution as artists. While they experimented with new styles and ideas, not only did their sound grow, but so did their reputation as one of the UK’s hottest rising bands…and I guess you could say they had a golden touch?

Their rise continued while touring with established acts such as INME, ALIEN ANT FARM and FOZZY, resulting eventually in them finding themselves being the first ever signees to the newly created Marshall Records, with their new material set to be recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. However, after the initial release of the single “Hurricane”, things seemed to come off the boil…the gold dust had settled and everything seemed quiet. Fast forward to 2019 and the band are no longer on the Marshal Records roster (With “No Results Found” on the website) and they’ve released their anticipated third album with the help of Kickstarter…so what happened? Let’s search “Utopia” for some answers…

We open up with the title track and we’re initially met with the apparent childlike innocence of a glockenspiel, before we make way for the more familiar, up-tempo rocking instrumentation we’ve come to expect. The ideology of the intro here, seeming to metaphorically at least take us back to simpler times, with the song itself then acting as a rallying cry of sorts. Lyrically we deal with concepts of revolutions, scrapping societal norms and starting afresh for a better world…there’s a sense of frustration fuelling this track and it’s a decent opener.

If you’re familiar with The Dirty Youth you’ll likely expect a fair few decent tracks spanning this new record, given their previous, and really here you won’t be too disappointed. “Horizon” continues the bands experimentation with a more futuristic, electronic sound, combining simplistic hooks and riffs, a quaint piano melody and layered synths, for a catchy piece of alt. pop. If you prefer TDY of old though, then you’ll more than likely get a kick out of “One Dance”…with it’s harder percussion and a more guitar driven approach it’s one of the rockiest, traditional sounding tracks on the album and Danni flexes her vocals that bit more, allowing for a really bold, really enjoyable track. By contrast, “Lights” utilises a far slower build, opting for a more soulful, power-pop / ballad aesthetic…this chorus is absolutely bouncing however and it’s this dichotomy that makes the track appealing; full of emotive and instrumental fluctuation.

Their previous single makes a reappearance here as “Hurricane Pt.2” and here we find the track has been given a bit of a makeover; a slight revamp, as it’s considerably more up-beat and up-tempo, sounding more like a polished track as opposed to more of a demo, which this makes the initial single sound like now. “The Ballad Of San Frandisco” also reappears having undergone the same treatment. No longer a B-side; its synth-driven retro qualities make for a clear album highlight, and it still gets brownie points for the name. San Frandisco…made me do a chuckle that.

The rest of the album to be fair maintains a fairly solid, consistent level of quality…there are no real negatives here to be perfectly honest. The band know how to reel you in with a good hook, they’ve always written great melodies, and when called upon, they CAN rock out with the best of them…I guess the only real issue of this record, is that there isn’t enough of that. The ten tracks here are fine, there’s nothing wrong with the run-time, but there are times you can’t help but feel this is a band that are, for some reason, holding back. Danni Monroe has a truly remarkable voice and can properly belt them out, but there’s a level of restraint here for some reason and it stops this album going from good to great. It’s not lacking quality, but at times it is lacking a bit more oomph…The Dirty Youth here sound a bit too…clean? [7]

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/THEDIRTYYOUTH
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    News & Reviews

    Gavin J Griffiths, a.k.a GavTheGothicChav, lover of new music and supporter of bands. Inspired by a mixture of horror and comedy, and fueled by a blend of alcohol and sarcasm...if you're a singer / in a band and would like a review written up, please do get in touch via the email address at the top of the page and I'll get back to you ASAP. Much love x

    Follow @GavinJGriffiths

      CHAV CHAT

    ASK GAV!

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Article
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Book
    Classic
    Classic Rock
    Comedy
    Competition
    Compilation
    Country
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Electronic
    Emo
    EP
    France
    Funk
    Games
    Glam Rock
    Gothic
    Grime
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-Hop
    Indie
    Industrial
    Interview
    Jazz
    J-Rock
    Melodic Death
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Newport
    New Wave
    Nu Metal
    Nu-Metal
    Pop
    Pop Punk
    Pop-Punk
    Pop Rock
    Post Punk
    Post-Punk
    Prog
    Punk
    Punk Rock
    Rap
    Reggae
    Rock
    Rock 'N' Roll
    Shoegaze
    Ska
    Sludge
    Soft Rock
    Southern Metal
    Southern Rock
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Thrash
    Unsigned
    Urban

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly