Young People

Understanding Young People is hard. It takes a lot of patience. The first step is the hardest, because it means casting aside the conventions that may have been relevant when you grew up. But if you're able to do this, the fruits of your labor will certainly be juicy. So, let's begin: Throw away the idea that a rock band must consist of a drummer, bassist, guitarist, and singer. Throw away the formula of verse, chorus, verse, etc. None of these things applies here.

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More About

• Katie Eastburn
• Kim Gordon
• Cat Power

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Now, brace yourself and listen to War Prayers, Young People's latest LP. What do you hear? The pitch-perfect vocals are delivered emotionally, are they not? The answer is yes. Singer Katie Eastburn is no doubt the lullaby to your insomnia and is blessed with magical vocal chords that sound like plush velvet. She's equal parts Chan Marshall seduction, Björk weird, and Kim Gordon punk rock.

As much as it will pain you, forget about Eastburn's singing for a moment and listen to War Prayers again. Now what do you hear? Diverse musical sketches that often lack meter? Primal, minimalist drumming? The ability to groove where appropriate? Silly slide guitar? Noisy noodling? Space and lots of it? The answers are yes. War Prayers finds order in noise, somehow extracting pop out of screeches and battering, and the results are as vibrant and captivating as children.