I've discussed it before, but I sometimes like to trace the ways in which I come across some of the music that makes it into heavy rotation for me. Right at the beginning of the year, NJ.com did one of those click-baity slide shows called "35 NJ Bands You Need to Hear in 2015." Lots of really good bands made that list; but, as is the nature of these things, the list did cause a little bit of controversy over its particular set of inclusions and omissions. Not content to just fight over things in Facebook comments, our friends at You Don't Know Jersey enlisted Roy Orbitron's Conor Meara and Ricky Lorenzo (also of YJY) to do their own list of 35 -- all on a single page. Number 35 on that list was a tie among the authors' projects Roy Orbitron / YJY / Dead Man.
OK. So, at this point, Conor and Ricky and Roy and YJY and Dead Man were all on my radar. Then YJY did their Tiny Desk Contest submission -- a really well-shot performance of "Through Being Hip" -- and I was hooked. I waited impatiently for anything official to turn up on their Bandcamp.
Things are all official now, as YJY have just released their debut EP, the five-song Couch Surfin' USA. The set is a just-right combination of the tendencies of the band's two major songwriters. Guitarist / vocalist Steve Sachs leans toward the poppier, catchier side of the spectrum; while Lorenzo (also guitar and vocals) plays more with noise and distortion. The result manages to achieve a sense of fun and looseness that could trick you into thinking that this is a band not taking themselves too seriously. But a careful listen reveals that YJY, in fact, take their music very seriously.
Opener and single "Couch Surfin' USA" owes a bit to the Pixies, but goes for the loud-loud-loud formula as opposed to the legendary band's loud-quiet-loud approach. I interviewed YJY last week, and Sachs and Lorenzo identified the title track as one that they worked on together. Its almost nonsensical hook makes the song an anthemic crowd-pleaser.
"Do You Love Me" is a simple garage rocker that features some funny vocal affectations from Sachs and significant trem abuse from Lorenzo. The Lorenzo-fronted "Surreal" is a bit of poppy shoegaze or shoegazy pop. Its swirling guitar noise is kept grounded by the work of drummer Dave Sachs and bassist Tim Fitzpatrick.
Things get psychedelic on "Missed Connections" where Steve's absent-mindedness costs him a connection. The overall sound of the song and the refrain of "That's one more thing I can't remember anymore" make you think there could be a chemical component to Sachs's forgetfulness. Closer "Amelia" comes closest to classic shoegaze with plenty of fuzz and Lorenzo's vocals low in the mix.
Couch Surfin' USA covers a lot of ground over its, roughly, 15-minute running time. This could be interpreted as a band still finding its sound, and there may be an element of that. But the set works nicely as a whole. YJY mix and match the styles of their songwriters into something that they could only produce as a band. It will be interesting to see where they go next.
Just think. If they had been on slide 42 of some click-baity post, I may have never found them. Fate.
Couch Surfin' USA is out now via Sniffling Indie Kids. Head over to YJY's Bandcamp to grab it as a Name Your Price download. All official like.
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