The Savage Young - The Savage Young

The Savage Young

The Savage Young
self-released; 2015

3.7 out of 5

By Roscoe Myrick

The Savage Young is a progressive rock band from beautiful Santa Clarita, California. This four-piece combines a wide spectrum of influences having named their band after a Beatles tour poster while taking elements of sound from Muse and System of A Down. The band busted onto the scene taking home the first prize at the Gorilla Music Festival’s battle of the bands. Their self-titled debut album The Savage Young is a testament to an extremely talented band that remains extremely hungry after experiencing initial acclaim, and is doubtless on their way to superstardom.

The album begins with a bang with the track “Wicked West” an upbeat frolic through some dangerous desert terrain with total disregard for safety. The Savage Young are having fun with their sound, and aren’t afraid to melt your face off with soaring vocals and sonic explosion.  Digging deeper, the album is a journey of different influences whether it be the reggae influence in “Mexico” or the smooth pop styling of “Whatever Girl.”  The ability to range from the kind of anthemic, edgy rock that fills football stadiums to the sweeter, more subtle tracks one might hear at their local watering hole really makes this album stand out as one of the more exciting debut albums out there.

No song on the album is more indicative of the band’s talent than “Grander Love” a haunting ballad disillusioned with the modern dance of meaning & mediocrity. He sings "You’ll wake with a headache/From the long night of drinking/All of my friends are turning into enemies/They can’t see I’m between two worlds/Oh grander love I’ve been thinking you’ve abandoned me/But I can never really tell for sure/".

It’s the kind of song that steeps inside you as you sit staring out the window lost in thought. Absentmindedly you put the mug to your lips only to realize you’ve lost track of the time and the tea’s gone cold. There you are, left with the soft bitterness of death’s inevitability with nothing left to warm your soul but a cold cup of chamomile. It’s the kind of emotion-- desirable melancholy-- that many bands attempt but few pull off.

The Savage Young will make you cry, but they will also make you laugh. Immediately following “Grander Love” is “Nobody” an upbeat romp that drops the punch line, “I’m a straight razor if you get too close.”  

“Variety of influences” is one of those buzzwords in music criticism. While The Savage Young clearly do have a wide canon of musical tastes, it’s their mastery and understanding of how to implement the disparate parts that truly makes them special.  Check out this album. 

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