Falsework

Young Galaxy continue to deliver sophisticated, measured compositions that are the epitome of crystalline '80s-style synth pop on their 2015 effort Falsework. Once again helping to achieve this sound is longtime producer Dan Lissvik, who brings the same clarion technique to Falsework that he brought to 2011's Shapeshifting and 2013's Ultramarine. Recorded in the band's Montreal studio, as well as Lissvik's studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, Falsework has much in common with YG's previous Lissvik-produced efforts and could be viewed as the third in an ongoing series of loosely connected albums. Falsework is Young Galaxy's most spare and otherworldly sounding album to date, full of icy keyboards, bubbly, outer space-sounding beats, and shimmery guitars that sound like refracted light patterns bouncing off glass. That said, it's not a cold album. With singer/keyboardist Catherine McCandless' warm, resonant voice glowing at the center of each song like a mix of Carly Simon and Sarah McLachlan, cuts like "Body" and "Ready to Shine" pulsate and move like oxygen through blood. Elsewhere, tracks like the sparkling "Falsework" and the throbbing "Little Wave" bring to mind the bright '80s dance music of New Order. Musically and lyrically, Falsework is rife with thematic ideas exploring the dichotomous nature of how humans interact with machines, and vice-versa. As McCandless sings on "Body," "Will you still want me if I'm just a body?" Thankfully, on Falsework, Young Galaxy have made a body of work that is as thoughtfully passionate and lyrical as it is mechanically perfect.