The Boys - The Young (2020)

The Young are a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed four-piece hailing from Staines. Putting the rock back into indie rock are brothers Alfie and George Bourne (vocalist and bassist respectively) accompanied by schoolmates Tom Weir (guitar) and Josh Poke (drums). Sporting their brand of self-proclaimed “raucous rock ‘n’ roll”, The Young are not to be ignored. Having released three singles over the past two years, with their first single ‘Camera Man’ reaching nearly 4,000 streams on Spotify alone, and being used in Brentford FC’s latest promotional video. However, in this review, I will be focussing on The Young’s latest single, The Boys. The Boys was released 24th January earlier this year and has since amassed over 1,700 plays (on Spotify), and it is easy to see why.

The first thing that struck me about The Boys is the prominent bass line. This gives the track a very punky feel right from the off. The overdriven bass tone adds an aggressive crunch. It sits perfectly beside the distorted guitar, complimenting it, rather than hiding behind it. Despite all this distortion, the mix is very clean – this becomes very apparent when the vocals kick in and can be clearly heard over the loud instrumental. This contrast of the gritty instrumentals and clean vocals adds to the punky vibe, provoking thoughts of a packed-out venue bouncing from floor to ceiling. It is the refreshing simplicity of The Boys that is so astounding, which is what makes it so beautifully boisterous. It is not a flashy, progressive rock song. It is a rapid hype anthem. The chorus is straight 80s rock with its bouncy, catchy nature but is set up perfectly by the pre-chorus. The rising vocals into the chorus are my favourite part about the track. The drums follow along so perfectly that they are barely thought about, splitting up the sections, so your brain does not have to think about it. The Boys is a fantastic track with some excellent songwriting, something that is overshadowed by the musical ability. This track has been meticulously crafted, but not overthought. If their artist playlist on Spotify is anything to go off, I would say The Young are following suit of their idols. They have found the perfect balance of influence and individualism, which can be hard to come by. And if The Boys is anything to go off, we can all expect more incredible punky indie tracks (hopefully) very soon in the future.