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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
DVDs out 9.5.11 |
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@ DVDfever Youtube |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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Pomp-Pop at its best. Since their stunning 2007 debut, 12 Tales From Winter City, Tennessee based The Young Republic appear to have down- sized from eight to six. Despite losing two members they’ve lost none of their quality. With a penchant for dabbling in post classical music fused with indie-pop cum Americana, they now move onwards and upwards with the spectacular Balletesque. Their musical assortment has both a keen eye on crossover appeal in the shape of Bright Eyes-like country folk and sharp pop sensibilities. Inspiration came from turbulent times the band endured in late 2008, and it pushes music training at Berklee College of Music in jazz / folk and classical music towards a darker cinematic sound. Having been originally influenced by Dylan, Lennon, Belle & Sebastian they’ve shifted gear to more contemporary artists like The Raconteurs, Pixies, and Arcade Fire. Here songs evolve around a cast including salesmen, bootleggers, preachers, outlaws and misfits of the past and present along with touching tales of loss and betrayal.
Opening with a tour de force, sumptuous strings soon emerge into a rough hewed rocker The Alchemist though the combination of strings and edgy riffs and solos mark it as a TYR exclusive. The violin solo later- in is a show-stopping moment. A pop-blues stomp (with fab slide solos) comes to the fore on the catchy Black Duck Blues - its something Julian Saporiti had remembered from his college days (no lyrics then though) which he developed after a visit to a bar and research in the Cape. It’s a great tale of America’s most notorious Fed-dodging 50 foot ‘rum-runner’ off the coast of Newport, which finally succumbed to the Coast Guard in December 1929. Combining measured Americana with classical gypsy-infused touchstones they conjured up stylish Napoleon Roses, a story that keeps to their traditional folk narrative accompanied by swirling piano and neat- beat which eventually bursts into a Waterboys-like Celtic fling, tailing off to some spellbinding violin showboating. Edgy, quirky and playful Rose Parade is a nod to Tom Waits after Saporiti saw him in concert, whereas the understated Sam Clemens is shimmering ballad presumably about Mark Twain featuring a short but classy tuba solo. The title track was saved from an early acoustic demo then called Because You Can further developed by keysman Nate Underkuffler, now morphing into a raucous rocker while The Wolf has its origins in the blues fused with gypsy-like folk. A fully orchestrated piece, Tidal Wave is just that, a whopping classical coated monster enough to blow your speakers to bits. Balletesque closes on a high – Tough Year – a recognition of the fall-out from 2008s difficulties, with a nod (deliberately or not) in the direction of alt-folk icon Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes. The verdict: Fabulous.
Weblink: theyoungrepublic.net / groups.yahoo.com/group/youngrepublic
The full list of tracks included are :
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
