This post has been a long time in coming for reasons that are just too boring to go into right here, but my tardiness has proved to be quite timely. The songs posted below come from a live radio session recorded by The Young Republic for WOXY.com last May, but having them here today gives me the opportunity for a nice tie-in with the proper release of the band’s debut album, 12 Tales From Winter City.
As I’ve said before, it’s not a new album as such – it’s a collection of songs that The Young Republic put out on a series of self-released recordings in the US over the past couple of years. It’s also not very new, given that all true YR aficionados will probably have already purchased their copy from one of the UK’s superior record shops (like Rough Trade and Piccadilly Records) when advance CDs sneaked in last autumn. On the basis of this, it made no. 6 in my top 10 albums of last year.
But let’s not worry about any of this too much. What you need to know is that it is a brilliant record and well worth your time and money, particularly if you’ve got a liking for well-crafted indie pop, quality songwriting and a pleasing mix of influences and ideas. I’ve already reviewed it, so you can read that here. It’s good to see that it’s already been picking up some decent reviews, as it only rightly should. Hopefully this will continue, because I’m sure End of the Road Records (the same people who run the excellent festival of the same name) doesn’t have a massive advertising budget and the record will probably depend on word of mouth to be a success. Let’s hope so.
Given that the songs on 12 Tales… have been around for a while, it’s only natural that Julian Saporiti and co. have newer songs that they’ve written more recently. Three of these were performed on the WOXY radio show, and they’re all really good. There are also live versions of Blue Skies and Girl From the Northern States, off the album. Until there’s newer YR material out, these will do nicely.
Download: The Young Republic – Blue Skies
Download: The Young Republic – Idiot Grin
Download: The Young Republic – Third Night Balcony
Download: The Young Republic – Mary Ellen*
Download: The Young Republic – Girl From the Northern States
*sung by Bob Merkl
You can now buy 12 Tales From Winter City at all the usual outlets – Amazon, HMV etc. You really should.
Other Young Republic news is that now all the band members have finished music college, they’re relocating to Nashville this month. I’m not sure if this will give them a better base for an assault on the rest of the country, but hopefully 2008 will see them get much more attention in their homeland. London fans will also be pleased to know that Julian is coming over to play a solo show at the End of the Road / The Local residency at Bush Hall (new year, bigger venue!) on 26 March. Should be a good ‘un. Scenesters will be able to catch the whole band at SXSW.
Finally, check back for previously-blogged YR radio sessions (with mp3s still available) - Xfm last June and the WOXY session from 2006.
As I’ve said before, it’s not a new album as such – it’s a collection of songs that The Young Republic put out on a series of self-released recordings in the US over the past couple of years. It’s also not very new, given that all true YR aficionados will probably have already purchased their copy from one of the UK’s superior record shops (like Rough Trade and Piccadilly Records) when advance CDs sneaked in last autumn. On the basis of this, it made no. 6 in my top 10 albums of last year.
But let’s not worry about any of this too much. What you need to know is that it is a brilliant record and well worth your time and money, particularly if you’ve got a liking for well-crafted indie pop, quality songwriting and a pleasing mix of influences and ideas. I’ve already reviewed it, so you can read that here. It’s good to see that it’s already been picking up some decent reviews, as it only rightly should. Hopefully this will continue, because I’m sure End of the Road Records (the same people who run the excellent festival of the same name) doesn’t have a massive advertising budget and the record will probably depend on word of mouth to be a success. Let’s hope so.
Given that the songs on 12 Tales… have been around for a while, it’s only natural that Julian Saporiti and co. have newer songs that they’ve written more recently. Three of these were performed on the WOXY radio show, and they’re all really good. There are also live versions of Blue Skies and Girl From the Northern States, off the album. Until there’s newer YR material out, these will do nicely.
Download: The Young Republic – Blue Skies
Download: The Young Republic – Idiot Grin
Download: The Young Republic – Third Night Balcony
Download: The Young Republic – Mary Ellen*
Download: The Young Republic – Girl From the Northern States
*sung by Bob Merkl
You can now buy 12 Tales From Winter City at all the usual outlets – Amazon, HMV etc. You really should.
Other Young Republic news is that now all the band members have finished music college, they’re relocating to Nashville this month. I’m not sure if this will give them a better base for an assault on the rest of the country, but hopefully 2008 will see them get much more attention in their homeland. London fans will also be pleased to know that Julian is coming over to play a solo show at the End of the Road / The Local residency at Bush Hall (new year, bigger venue!) on 26 March. Should be a good ‘un. Scenesters will be able to catch the whole band at SXSW.
Finally, check back for previously-blogged YR radio sessions (with mp3s still available) - Xfm last June and the WOXY session from 2006.
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4 comments:
wow, thanks for this! i have the WOXY session but not the others. Can't wait to get this record!
Just so you know Mary Ellen is actually written by Bob as well.....he's also got a solo project (you can go see it if you click on his link at the bands myspace page. He's done a whole album called Ahoy Hoy - which is what the guy who invented the telephone wanted to be the greeeting when you picked up the phone......im sure if you drop him a line he'd send you a copy...
Ro
Cheers Ro, thanks for the tip
Look 'anonymous' or whoever you are - stop posting links to the download of the full YR album. This blog is not about giving freeloaders whole free albums. Just sample tracks to whet your appetite. The Young Republic are a new band who have produced a great album and as such deserve your support. If you like the album, BUY your own copy. Any more of these links will be immediately deleted.
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