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Rating: DeGenere: FOLK
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If I read on the profile of any artist that they are categorized in this genre, I am almost certain that I would avoid them without even thinking for a second, even more so in the case of newcomers. What do we imagine when we say folk? Simple music for simple people, nothing that is or will ever be a milestone, indeed I would rather define it as "popular" music, in the negative sense of the term: almost something stupid. What is meant by "folk music"? Bucolic atmospheres, rural landscapes, sounds of slightly retro instruments.
And that is exactly the case. And it drives me crazy. Young Forever is a concentrate of irresistible music and I challenge anyone to resist following the choruses.
Right from the opening track (A Friend Like You), you encounter a whirlwind of mandolins, guitars, harps, violins, little bells, and even the xylophone, played with discretion and sensitivity by this quintet of young Scots. In Summer's Gone, there is even a Bontempi organ accompanied by strings.
The Aberfeldy make folk music, the Aberfeldy are simple, the Aberfeldy play superbly and have created a unique gem.
The closest thing I know to compare them to is Belle & Sebastian, but what can I say? ...Belle & Sebastian have never quite convinced me, whereas these Aberfeldy have won me over, for the past 2 weeks I've been carrying their CD around everywhere and listening to it on repeat (also because the whole thing wraps up in barely 40 minutes excellently distributed over 12 tracks): when this happens, it means that yet another new "musical love story" has begun in my life.
These guys are strangely not at all depressed by the typical grayness and fog of their native Edinburgh, instead, they radiate optimism and joie de vivre, it seems they've grown up in the vast fields of Indiana. My favorite track is the tender Surly Girl, with the initial violin strings violently plucked and torn, almost screaming, then the choruses and the entire rainbow of other instruments come to soothe. Something I Must Tell You, on the other hand, although also dominated by choruses, completely changes its tune, much faster, even danceable, capable of filling gloomy days with joy with its compelling tempo.
I haven't yet delved into the subjects of the lyrics, but just by reading the titles, I don't believe that depth is their dominant feature, and that's just fine: spring, sun, boys and girls, days outdoors. They present themselves as carefree and cheerful, it would be absurd for them to tackle existential themes and their discomfort with the world (also because I can say without fear of contradiction that there is not even the slightest trace of discomfort or anger). Could you ever imagine Jonathan Davis and his Korn singing about the joy brought by life and the harmony of things?
Young Forever will never change the course of music history; it is an album with a rustic and delicate (perhaps too much so) atmosphere that only risks going unnoticed, elbowed out (or rather "guarded," if you'll allow me the term) by other CDs placed next to it on store shelves. It is hoped that the lion on the cover busy with non-epic affairs will at least manage to pique curiosity.
Great debut that earns a convincing 4/5.
I'm happy to be able to share this discovery, and I hope I've learned a lesson for the future: I believe it is indeed time to recalibrate my parameters and be less rigid in the future, otherwise I might risk missing out on great albums.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Love Is an Arrow (02:30)
Love is a thing that I can't describe
It sounds so foolish if I even try
Love is an arrow and it points at you
It tells you what you gotta do
Love is a verb and a noun as well
You find it in a dictionary under 'L'
To give you a description to spell it out
But they don't say what it's all about
Love is a fire that you can't control
It burns in the middle and it leaves a hole
You can fill it up and you don't know when
It's gonna start to burn again
Love is a good way to lose a friend
It's a two-faced liar that you can't defend
Love is a virus that invades your heart
It starts to take it all apart
Love is a shape that you can't define
With an odd set of angles and uneven sides
your head's that paper and your hearts the pen
Gonna do this sum again
Gonna do this sum again
Gonna do this sum again
Do this sum again
Love is a verb and a noun as well
You find it in the dictionary under 'L'
Love is an arrow and it points at me
It tells me how it's gonna be
It tells me how it's gonna be
It tells me how it's gonna be
It tells me how it's gonna be
06 Vegetarian Restaurant (03:17)
You recall when he hated me
And pretended that he didn't see
And he glanced a cast in your direction
And you did it for your own protection
Like the way that you shell the peas
Only wish you were shelling me
Like the way that you dance when you're in the kitchen
Bodies rockin' and your moves are bitchin'
Been a regular for so long
But you treat me like there's something wrong
When I let you know you are looking lovely
Tell me is it really awful of me
Got the touch when your making tea, yeah
And you wish that you've taken me
Ooh like spring time takes the winter
The only thing I ever get is splinters
From your chair in your vegetarian restaurant
Ooh your vegetarian restaurant
Your everywhere in your vegetarian restaurant
Ooh your vegetarian restaurant
Don't you know I'm dying deep inside
This restaurant is all I want
So keep it all beside, yeah
I don't cry a lot, it's true
When I do, I do it over you
There's times I can't believe your even human
Sweet and modest and as unassuming
As the tableware in your vegetarian restaurant
Ooh your vegetarian restaurant
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