CD Review: Instead Of Sleeping - "Young Lungs"
There’s a lot going on
musically with Pittsburgh’s Instead of Sleeping, who house two drum kits, a horn
section, keyboards, pianos and more; all sonic elements the band employs on
their latest full length Young Lungs. The
producing and mixing skills of Marc
McClusky (Weezer, Ludo, William
Beckett) can be felt up and down Young
Lungs; from acquiescent indie brilliance akin to Catch Without Arms-era Dredg (“Volatile,” “Insatiable”) to bouncy
Ludo-inspired quirk (“Merlot,” “The Ones”). But Young Lungs isn’t all such pomp and circumstance, as the record
delves into cloyingly opulent and layered dream pop with a thumping backbone
(“Speak Into Me”) and Killers-esque pop rock (“South Side Girls”) before
devolving into all things lo-fi via gruff, muffled acoustics that sound
recorded on a bedroom four track (“Ammo” (though these might be the album’s
best vocals)). Young Lungs is
ambitious, it’s adventurous, but above all else, it’s a great listen, and might
be one of the best records you’ll end up hearing this year.
Grade: A-
Go Download: “Insatiable”
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