Review Summary: 90s nostalgia to the max. Not much originality, but oh man, those HOOKS.
Let me say right off the bat that I base my reviews in terms of equal ratio; a 4 to me is also an 8/10, meaning a very good album that isn't exactly groundbreaking or life-changing but still quite a good listen. There's nothing wrong with that at all, it just describes my thoughts on this band and album perfectly.
This is Diamond Youth's first full-length after a string of good EPs and singles on Topshelf. Despite the fact that the band has existed for 5 years, due to the members all living in different parts of the country and this being a side project as is, they record when they can and this is when we got the album. It should be noted that the band features members of Trapped Under Ice and Down to Nothing; two straight edge hardcore revivalists who are about as far from DY's style as possible. That's not to say their outside influences aren't present here-there are a bunch of aggressive drum styles and the occasional beatdown riff being brought to the table-but let's just say the influences of Queens of the Stone Age and Pixies are definitely more present here than, say, Cro-Mags.
The first track here tells you everything you need to know; "Thought I Had It Right", the lead single and number-one banger off the album, blasts right off the bat with a catchy ass riff and catchy ass hook, and these just do not stop. This, in a nutshell, describes the entire album. Riffs and hooks for days. The band will weave in-and-out of every indie rock styling of the past 25 years, and may ape their influences shamelessly, but these melodies are great and will stay in your head for awhile.
After the Foo Fighters like immediacy of the first song, "Spinning" slows to a dreamy, reverb-y, almost shoegaze-like style with production as layered as possible. Hooks remain effective in this one. "Far Away From Earth" actually deviates a bit with its odd progression and interesting bassline, and as expected, the hook on this one is catchy as *** too (this also marks the first appearance of frontman Justin Gilman's I-can't-believe-it's-not-Josh Homme falsetto).
At this point it just becomes a formula. "In the Clouds" is the surfy pop song, "Riptide" the jangly indie tune (and man are the vocals here gorgeous), "Deep Love" the '60s psychedelia revival. They trip up a bit with "The Nothing" and "No Control", the only two noticeably weak tracks, but everything else here sounds wonderful. It's obvious that these songs are meant to be instantly likeable and appeal to as many WKQX and KROQ fans as possible, but hey, if it works it works. And it does. Over and over and over.
The most interesting (and possibly best) song here is actually the last track, "The Difference". Sounding like Real Estate taking on early Jimmy Eat World, this is where the band really shines through, a song that blends their modern indie rock influences with their emo and alt rock likings of the past to create something enjoyable and original. In 2015, the so-far peak of a growing field of 90s fetishists ranging every style from Cage the Elephant to Title Fight to Parquet Courts, it's the type of thing they need (and hopefully will implement) to stick out and succeed on future records. But, they also have something too many bands nowadays don't: hooks. And for now, that's enough.
