Ann Arbor, Michigan screamo band YOUTH NOVEL (featured in our August 2020 mega screamo feature HERE) have premiered their new epic self-titled full length today via Zegema Beach Records.
Comments BrooklynVegan, who hosted the official first hearing: “Like the music Youth Novel released during their initial run, it’s frantic, ’90s-style screamo, but it’s a darker, harsher, and more claustrophobic sounding album than their earlier work. All three members contribute vocals and all have ferocious screams, and the instrumentation is a total sensory overload. It’s not all aggressive though; the record also has an EITS-esque post-rocky side (like on the song “XVII”), which makes for a great contrast with all the heavier material.”
Michigan based screamo band Youth Novel was active from 2012-2017, putting out a few releases and playing a handful of shows before unraveling. Just before the band dissolved, what was left of a shifting lineup was working on material for a new LP, with recordings being shelved when band members relocated. When the pandemic created unexpected free time, guitarist Maya Chun and bassist Jon Riley returned to the unfinished material with new vocalist Nathan Whittle to refine the arrangements and bring the songs back from their semi-abandoned state. The resulting self-titled album is eleven tracks of chaotic and brightly-burning emotive hardcore, serving as the final capstone of Youth Novel’s brief but remarkable trajectory.
Zegema Beach Records comments: “Since helping release the first YOUTH NOVEL ‘Demo’ tape in 2014 we’ve been hot and heavy for this Michigan screamo band. This posthumous album was recorded years ago but shelved when members moved away. During the quarantine Jon and Maya found time and recruited a new vocalist to help finish up the band’s final recordings. What we are left with is a cathartic, precise, beautiful and chaotic release spread over 11 tracks. Taking what made the band great and fine-tuning their juxtapositions, these jams span from a minute to almost seven and are both more aggressive (utilizing three vocalists!) as well as lush/gorgeous.”
