The two newest songs from uneasy pop duo Young Juvenile Youth up the approachable sounds ever so slightly. “In Blue” features a slapping beat while “Hive” gravitates around big bubbly Euro-pop-revival synth notes. Yet, the more I listen to both songs, the more immediate sheen fades ever so slightly to reveal something that has a lot in common with the tenser material they released last year. “Hive” (below) is the misstep, a stab at rave-up pop where vocalist Yuki’s voice just feels out of place…at least until a late-song breakdown where everything slows down a touch. “In Blue,” though, pulls off the shadowy sounds very well — Young Juvenile Youth’s music depends on how well Yuki’s singing can fit in with Jemapur’s production, and here the pop side almost seems like a trick to distract from the goosebumps underneath. Listen to that one above.
