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The Youth
Class: This Is What I Remember
I only know a few things about Peoria: A) It is a town in Illinois. B) Liza Danver is an anchor on one of the local news shows. C) Peoria does not have a history of producing good music. One of the above facts is obvious (A), another one of the facts is only known to me because I am friends with her (B), and the third fact became more and more apparent as I listened to The Youth Class album, This Is What I Remember. Now, you dont have to be from a big city to make good music. Take my hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Its not much to look at, but even little old Dayton has produced its fair share of good music: GBV, The Breeders (and of course, of the Pixies), Brainiac, and even Lou Barlow of Sebadoh are all from Dayton. Not that Dayton is locked in an indie rock battle with other smallish Midwestern cities, but if it was Anyways, The Youth Class is not the band to even up the Peoria deficit. Their music is uninspired and sophomoric. It is also horribly recorded and mixed, which doesnt help. The guitars sound like tinnish toys in the distance, obviously diminishing the power that songs may very well need. The singer is also not really up to his task; his voice is weak and tentative, but not in an artistic way in a bad way. Lyrically, The Youth Class is similarly challenged. One of their nicer songs, a lighter number about the unknown fate of an almost forgotten girl from school, is totally destroyed by the inept and artless lyrics that somehow passed the puke test. Our boys from Peoria should take a lesson from Jarvis Cocker and company who wrote a great song on the same subject: Disco 2000. I really dont know what else to say about this band. Their music is Midwestern bar band fare, mutated by an exposure to indie rock. There is screaming where actual singing would have been the real surprise, an occasional half-assed attempt to rock out, and a drummer who plays like he is whacked out on goofballswhen he is playing at all. In sum, maybe The Youth Class was a little premature in releasing an album. Having recording equipment is not enough; decent songs and some musical talent are also needed.
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