Youth Novels - Blue (2022)

It's been already fiver years since the Poznań-based duo released their last EP. While Chaos I Create successfully married catchy synthpop with moody dream pop, their new album shows their melancholic and super atmospheric face. Hence the name: Blue

The Ania Babrakowska and Emil Nowak duo has a fantastic ability to effortlessly engage the audience into their dreamy and nostalgic world. The title track that opens the short EP has its catchy tune and fairly energetic pace but it is, most certainly, a beautiful and tear-jerking ballad. And as such, it sets the tone for the whole album with four perfectly moody compositions. No wonder that they describe their music as meandering between "quasi-acoustic compositions, ambient soundscapes [and] widely understood alternative music". There is a healthy dose of discreet and attractive electronica that builds the backgrounds with tons of ethereal, dreamy af backing vocals all over the place.

The album is closed by The Moon, a track that features Iwona Skwarek's vocals, the artist known from Rebeka and Shyness!, very popular projects on the Polish offstream music scene. This song shows the most the artists' love for the acoustic sound. I really hope we won't have to wait for more of this magical music so long as before. 

Blue costs 5 EUR (20 PLN).

Youth Novels - Chaos I Create EP (2017)

Check: Blue

Country: Poland

Genre: synth dream pop

Label: Golba Music

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Youth Novels - Chaos I Create EP (2017) EN

A Polish band that combines the atmosphere of Lykke Li, synth passion of the XX and vocals of London Grammar but also admits to taking inspiration from Polish legends from Myslovitz? This is Youth Novels, young Poles from the Poznań region, that in November released their second EP and it seems that made it to the alternative pop fans' playlists.

The album begins with a real kick because the deep, multidimensional vocal of Anu Babrakowska announces the catchiest but also the most atmospheric song on this album, "Chaos I Create". "I think you may love me / despite of chaos I create" sounds like an honest thing to say by an artist as the tend to be quite chaotic. At the same time, although the song's pace is quite slow, the track is ready to get to the broader audience.

There are also sound of cello on the album and they just multiply the dense atmosphere of the EP,a s in the ballad called "Don't Let Me Down". At the same time, there's also a less pop-like side of the project shown in "Madness", the song that hides the characteristic vocal behind veil of electronic-guitar sounds as it happened a lot on the old Slowdive's albums. Huge variety for such a short thing and everything is top-shelf.

"Chaos I Create" costs 6 EUR.

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Youth Novels - Chaos I Create EP (2017) PL

Polski zespół, który łączy w sobie atmosferę Lykke Li, pasję do syntezatorów the XX i wokal London Grammar ale przyznaje się też do czerpania inspiracji z Myslovitz? To właśnie Youth Novels, młodzi artyści z podpoznańskiego Wągrowca, którzy w listopadzie wydali druga epkę i wydaje się, że na stałe zagoszczą na playlistach fanów alternatywnego popu.

Płyta zaczyna się od prawdziwego kopnięcia bo głębokie, wielowymiarowy wokal Anu Babrakowskiej zwiastuje najbardziej przebojowy a jednocześnie niezwykle atmosferyczny, tytułowy "Chaos I Create". "Wydaje mi się, że może mnie kochasz, mimo chaosu, który kreuję" brzmi jak bardzo szczere wyznanie kogoś, kto jest przecież artystą -  a to chaotyczna domena przecież. Jednocześnie, mimo spokojnego tempa, kawałek jest absolutnie gotowy do dotarcia do szerokiej publiczności. 

Na płycie pojawiają się też dźwięki wiolonczeli potęgujące tylko gęstą atmosferę EP-ki, tak jak w balladzie "Don't Let Me Down" ale też mniej popowe oblicze, które zespół pokazuje w "Madness", utworze, który chowa charakterystyczny wokal za woalką elektroniczno-gitarowych dźwięków niczym na starych płytach Slowdive. Duża różnorodność na płycie ale wszystko na wysokim poziomie.

"Chaos I Create" kosztuje 25 złotych.

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