{"id":1590,"date":"2014-11-20T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=1590"},"modified":"2014-11-20T08:00:16","modified_gmt":"2014-11-20T13:00:16","slug":"in-the-rotation-young-sicks-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2014\/11\/20\/in-the-rotation-young-sicks-new-album\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Rotation: Young & Sick\u2019s new album"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CHAD CARTER – <\/strong><\/em>STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to November: gloomy, cold, and gray. But what better way to combat the listlessness of this month than by listening to a recent album by an up-and-coming artist?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This past April, Young & Sick (Dutch artist Nick van Hofwegen) released his first full-length album, <\/span><\/span>Young & Sick<\/i><\/span><\/span>. The artist, known for designing the album covers for Foster the People\u2019s <\/span><\/span>Torches<\/i><\/span><\/span>, Maroon 5\u2019s <\/span><\/span>Overexposed<\/i><\/span><\/span>, and Robin Thicke\u2019s <\/span><\/span>Blurred Lines<\/i><\/span><\/span>, as well as designing clothing for Urban Outfitters, toured with Chicago rapper Chance the Rapper in October.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The album <\/span><\/span>Young & Sick<\/i><\/span><\/span> is a pleasing, well-arranged concoction of R&B, electronica, jazz, and dance music.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The opener, \u201cMangrove,\u201d immediately sets the tone of the album. It has an upbeat R&B feel, overlaid by the artist\u2019s high but soulful voice in several overdubbed harmonies and punctuated by sparse synthesizer lines. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The ethereal vocals are the star of this album. The artist moves easily between falsetto and full voice, traversing his melodies with impressive grace. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMangrove\u201d sounds joyous, similar to gospel, but the lyrics add a layer of complexity (\u201cLuck, she\u2019s on my side, it scares me to death\/ If you wonder where I\u2019ve been, to hell and back\/ I am so damn happy, something must be very wrong\/ When life is smiling at me why do I frown?\u201d).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

These lyrics convey an uneasy mind. The person is content, but with a nagging sense that it will go wrong at any moment. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The song\u2019s bridge features fuzzy synthesized bass, cut with wavering electronic arpeggios. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a feel-good song with traces of melancholy, a characteristic of the rest of the album. Each song is catchy, with many harmonized vocal lines and synth sprinkled throughout.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHeartache Fetish\u201d opens with an a cappella hook that falls into a relaxed groove. Young & Sick does some great vocal work here. Again, the outward cheerfulness of the song is juxtaposed with the darker lyrics (\u201cYou force my spirit down your throat\/And leave me by the roadside, dying\/Pulled apart by your grace\/It leaves a burning taste\u201d). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The third track, \u201cGhost of a Chance,\u201d has an up-tempo beat splashed with shimmering lush synth chords, and topped off with mesmerizing vocals in which a single syllable is sung while moving through several pitches.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The lyrics speak of an undying love that transcends the grave (\u201cWhen our souls have their bodies no more\/I\u2019ll come for you\u201d). This song is definitely single material and has been remixed several times on an EP released Nov. 4, called <\/span><\/span>Ghost Fetish<\/i><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCounting Raindrops\u201d is a ballad with sappy lyrics that edge toward cheesy and clich\u00e9 (\u201cI never knew two\/ Could tango like you and I\u201d and \u201cWhen the sun goes under\/ No one makes me feel like you\u201d). Fortunately, a funky section helps keep the song moving. \u201cFeel Pain\u201d snaps the album back to life with a driving beat and more flowing vocals. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGloom\u201d melds R&B and jazz: muted trumpet, brushes on the drum set, and a walking bass. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The song is catchy, but the jazz aspect feels a little forced, like it\u2019s just there to fulfill a genre requirement. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGlass\u201d begins with a thick, distorted, and syncopated synth bass hook which is effortlessly woven in with airy, bubbly synth lines and pulsing vocals. This song is the most dance-like track on the album. The style of extremely upbeat music paired with dark lyrics is again evident in this song (\u201cFound a field, lay down and cried\/It\u2019s kind of strange I\u2019m still alive\u201d). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cValium\u201d is grounded by long, low bass tones as the vocals hover above. Then, a synthesizer sweeps through. The song takes on some dub characteristics as the bass starts to wobble. The electronic parts cut out momentarily as a piano plays some jazzy chords and this time the jazz fits right in. The lyrics speak of a lover watching as the singer descends to \u201cthe ocean floor,\u201d and the title suggests a deterioration due to anxiety.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTwentysomething\u201d finishes the album with lyrics that explain the album-wide disparity between the superficially positive songs and more complicated lyrics (\u201cThe sun is out, but I am overcast\/ And I\u2019ll give you polite smiles\/ To hide my problems\u201d). These lines show a transition from \u201cMangrove\u201d (\u201cI feel the best I have all my life\/ Something must be wrong\u201d). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The character has gone from knowing it will go wrong, to recognizing it has gone wrong. The whole album reflects the process of dealing with this: the songs are upbeat, the \u201cpolite smiles,\u201d but hidden in the innocent sound of the artist\u2019s voice are the problems. Young & Sick explores the idea of masking mental pain with a smile. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Young & Sick has created a unique style with this album. The songs are easy to listen to, but definitely not simple. The writing is layered and very well organized\u2013it\u2019s not that there is not a lot going on, it\u2019s that everything is placed and executed exactly as it should be. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As the dreary months roll in, <\/span><\/span>Young & Sick<\/i><\/span><\/span> offers an upbeat and interesting sound, with just enough melancholy to fit the November gloom. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By CHAD CARTER – STAFF WRITER Welcome to November: gloomy, cold, and gray. But what better way to combat the listlessness of this month than by listening to a recent album by an up-and-coming artist? This past April, Young & Sick (Dutch artist Nick van Hofwegen) released his first full-length album, Young & Sick. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-1590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-leisure","tag-in-the-rotation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1590\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}