Young Prisms - Friends For Now

Die erste Vorladung (I)


Personalien:
Raus aus dem unbefriedigenden akademischen Alltag, rein in ein von Kakerlaken verseuchtes Appartement über einem chinesischen Restaurant in San Francisco, um von dort den Traum einer Karriere als Musiker zu verwirklichen. Jordan Silbert, Matt Allen, Stef Hodapp und Gio Betteo gingen diesen Weg.

Tathergang:
Im Jahr 2009 erschien bereits mit "Mexican Summer" die erste EP, es folgten mehrere Split-Singles und mit "Friends For Now" nun das im Lo-Fi-Sound schillernde Debüt der Young Prisms, welches über Kanine Records veröffentlicht wurde und in Deutschland bisher nur als Import zu haben ist.


Plädoyer:
Lärmiger bis dissonanter Gitarrenrock psychedelischer Prägung mit hypnotisierender Wirkung. Dazu gibt es zwischen den Koordinaten Garagenrock (Sonic Youth) und Shoegaze (My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver) verschluckten Gesang der Jungs als Beiwerk zum hingehauchten Gesang von Stef Hodapp.


Zeugen:

Friends for Now begins with a title track, where a soft bass line swells into an opulent swirl of reverb-laden vocals and meandering guitar. It’s as if you’re falling in slow motion into an abyss, paralyzed by whirring feedback and lethargic chords.
“If You Want To” gracefully breaks the fall, with its danceable beat paired alongside washed-out surf guitar and haphazard vocals. Lacking in substantial lyrics, the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ allow the music to speak for itself, completely engaging the listener with delectable melody. Young Prisms songs consistently stray from the typical lyrical pop song structure of choruses and verses yet adhere to them musically, creating an compelling dynamic that prevents their slew of delicious pop songs from becoming monotonous.
Similar tracks characterize about half of the album; 2010 single “Sugar” shows Young Prisms at their strongest. Pounding, pulsating drums and wailing guitar alongside lofty repeated chimes of “I’m still high/I’m still high” add together for a sweet three-and-a-half minutes in which one can’t help but get lost. “Eleni” follows suit, only with the addition of noisy clanking and clamoring alongside a stellar bass groove.
Although their upbeat tracks are masterful and incredibly enjoyable, Young Prisms take care not to pigeonhole themselves throughout Friends for Now; they also succeed admirably in their ventures into slower, hypnotic jams, fully indulgent in the psychedelic tag of their genre. Exemplifying this is “In Your Room”, a six-minute journey rich in distortion and entrancing percussion. The vocals fade out halfway through the song, allowing for a guitar and pounding drums session that is seriously inescapable, a hallucinogen in its own right.
All in all, Friends for Now is an impressively strong debut that exceeds even the vast expectations of those fans primed on the band’s introductory singles and releases. With its subtle psychedelia and addictive beats paired with incomprehensible, lofty vocals, Young Prisms keep the listeners guessing – and definitely coming back for more.
(consequenceofsound.net)

Indizien und Beweismittel:
Young Prisms spielen live auf dem Dach des San Francisco Art Institute die Songs "Friends For Now" und "If You Want To":

Young Prisms - Sugar by The Drift Record Shop

Young Prisms - If You Want To by The Drift Record Shop

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