Arts & Crafts
“We talked a lot about our music in terms of films” Gold & Youth singer Louise Burns told me in an interview last week. “It’s cinematic.” And for what it’s worth she’s dead on — Beyond Wilderness the Vancouver-based act’s debut for Arts & Crafts is most memorable for the atmosphere it creates not the references it name-checks. Gold & Youth’s understated synth-pop displays a refreshing dexterity — they oscillate between brash danceable numbers (“Quarters”) dusky instrumentals (“Cut Lip”) and elegant ’80s pop (as on “Jewel” led by Burns’ sensual vocals). Of course these aren’t uncharted territories — at times co-vocalist’s Murray McKenzie’s languid delivery compares to Diamond Rings who not coincidentally is a former tour mate — but as a debut it’s confident assured and rarely sags; it could likely pass as a modern interpretation of the Blade Runner soundtrack. It’s not only a far cry from the Raccoons — the Victoria B.C. indie-pop quartet that birthed Gold & Youth — but it’s also a favourable outlier in Arts & Crafts’ decade-deep catalogue. (Gold & Youth play the Palomino on Sunday May 19.)
