Resurrection of Youth and Lightness
Young Widows are Pushing Daisies with Neo-Noir Noise Rock
The Funeral Home was an almost natural decision when choosing a studio location to record In and Out of Youth and Lightness, the third full-length release from Louisville, Kentucky noisemakers Young Widows.
Located right at home in Louisville, The Funeral Home – part funeral home, part recording studio – is owned and operated by longtime friend of the band Kevin Ratterman, and provided the band an inspiring environment to create the album.
“There were times where we couldn’t get [into the studio] until 6 o’clock because there was a session going on downstairs, and there are all these people waiting around to look at their passed loved ones,” said lead vocalist/guitarist Evan Patterson.
“There were some interesting vibes, you know? To see these people’s eyes and think ‘I’m going upstairs to make rock music, and they’re down here in memory of someone they love. It definitely had an effect,” said Patterson.
Young Widows have been injecting their own brand of post-punk/noise rock into a convoluted scene for five years now. Forming in 2006 from the remnants of loud Louisville band Breather Resist, Young Widows have come a long way in developing their sound.
Familiar to frantic and distorted walls of sound, two-minute aggressive post-punk assaults, chunky noise-rock guitars and fat ambiguous rhythm sections, Young Widows have taken on a new direction with In and Out of Youth and Lightness.
They’re pushing the boundaries of their genre with a vengeance.
The album maintains the band’s instinctual aggression, volume and cynicism, but this time around the sound seems to come from a much deeper, darker place. The result is a haunting, lurking, slow moving sonic beast featuring long reverberating guitar progressions, a prominent rhythm section and occasionally eerie, repetitious choral vocal melodies.
Patterson recognizes the change in sound, the imagery of mortality and the visceral look at life that In and Out of Youth and Lightness provides is a haunting one.
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Young Widows’ latest record was tracked in a funeral home
“It’s a very ‘coming-of-age’ record,” said Patterson. “I’ve come to realize that the struggle of age and getting to that point where you are making music as an adult, where you are content with your home life and all those things that balance out to make you an individual, make you happy in your place.
“Those are all things that really play out through our entire existence as a band. It’s kind of the concept of being in the peaks and valleys of emotions, and of an age where you’re really
trying to find yourself.”
Patterson knows that a band can only strive to progress and mature with time. However, in certain genres this goal becomes more difficult. With this in mind and Youth and Lightness in their repertoire, Young Widows keep expanding their sound and continue to challenge any limiting definitions.
“Punk and hardcore is where this all started for me,” said Patterson. “But I don’t want to be stuck in one genre ever, and I feel that we’re in this grey area that exists purely because people aren’t scared to make music.”
Young Widows are currently halfway through the eastern leg of their tour, and will be descending upon the island of Montreal on May 10th at Casa Del Popolo (4873 St. Laurent Boulevard) with guests My Disco and Esses. $9, doors at 8:30 p.m.
Photos of Young Widows at Casa del Popolo
