Damon & Naomi/Richard Youngs
Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
09/06/2011

An underground hero, Richard Youngs has quietly built up one of an impressive catalogue of modern music. His recent transmissions have included solo guitar noise, synth heavy techno rinseouts, transformations of English folk and brilliant electronic pop songs. His live sets are similarly confounding. One (in)famous performance consisted of Youngs reading from 171 used train tickets, transforming his commutes into a hypnotic tour de force. Such gentle mischief is absent tonight, although he does charmingly refer to his shambolic “stagecraft,” as his watch falls from its perch. Songs from his forthcoming album ‘Amplifying Host’ are stripped down to voice and fingerpicked acoustic guitar, with Damon Krukowski adding subtle drum flourishes. Youngs interrogates conventional song-form like a jazz improviser, working over phrases repeatedly, stretching and skewing them as he goes. Plaintive folk melodies are soured with dissonance, while his guitar patterns subtly shift between crystalline prettiness and jarring dischords. It’s not always an easy listen, but the awkward beauty of Youngs’ lapsed choirboy voice carries you along, revealing his singular vision.

Twenty years on from the dissolution of dream-pop godheads Galaxie 500, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang have arguably followed a more interesting path than former bandmate Dean Wareham, hooking up with experimental musicians such as Michio Kurihara of Japanese psych masters Ghost, who performs alongside them tonight. With Krukowski swapping drums for acoustic guitar, and Yang playing keyboard rather than bass, there is perhaps a lack of rhythmic kick. Kurihara’s lysergic guitar, however, brings an edge to the stately songs, from trembling fuzz leads on ‘Walking Backwards’ to the perfectly judged blues licks on a cover of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Shine A Light’. There’s a quiet passion behind Krukowski and Yang’s light, dreamy vocals, lending a warmth to their melancholia.

Stewart Smith