Young Widows: In and Out of Youth and Lightness (Temporary Residence, 4/12/11)
Young Widows: “In and Out of Lightness”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Young_Widows_In_and_Out_of_Lightness.mp3|titles=Young Widows: “In and Out of Lightness”]More than ever, Louisville’s Young Widows is teaching listeners to appreciate the quietness in post-punk.
Consider, for contrast, the slobbering borderline silliness of Pissed Jeans, or any other band that draws on a ton of distortion. At first listen, Young Widows might seem to have something missing. The vocals lead the songs but aren’t panicked or even immediately catchy. The guitars often walk an eerie line between clean and dissonant. The rhythm section — though hardly crude, if you’re paying attention — often favors a ceremonial plod.
In between, there’s a roomy silence, occasionally breached with a wandering guitar echo or backing vocal. But soon it stops feeling incomplete. That lurking silence, and the unresolved feeling that it creates, becomes the hook.