The Like Young
Looked Up Plus Four (CD EP)
 Trust me when I say the onstage shenanigans and Led Zeppelin-esqe leanings of the White Stripes are all fine and dandy on national TV, but if you're looking for a more updated and refined sound from a rock duo, you need look no further than The Like Young. The married couple of Joe and Amanda Ziemba (both formerly of Wolfie) make the noise in this band and they make it damn well. Looked Up Plus Four is the EP that Weezer might have made if Rivers Cuomo wasn't so interested in devolving back to his heavy metal Ace Frehely days.
The songs on this EP are extremely short and sweet, loaded with the kind of unmistakably hooky hooks that make power pop - punk the great musical equalizer between dockers - wearin' yuppiesters and the black leather 'n pierced crowd. The opener "Looked Up" was so short that it almost over before I looked up the rest of the tracks on the album. But no matter, i caught it again on the 2nd and 3rd listens without even realizing at first that the EP had repeated! The keyboard lines in the middle of that song definitely remind me of the Rentals. I also like the way in which Joe and Amanda share the lines nearly equally in the song. With some bands, having two different voices switching off the lead frequently can produce a somewhat jarring effect, but in this case it is quite seamless.
"Bad Excuse" and "Freddy" both contain elements such as frequent "whisper - to -a - bleed" dynamics that do remind me nostalgically of the Pixies or Nirvana. "Threshold Person" contains a more of a classic rock type riff in the beginning that at first didn't seem to sit as well with me, though I got used to it after awhile, and the more straightforward chorus of the song seemed to wipe away some of that classic feel.
"You Can't Get It Back" is definitely Weezer-ish. I'm not saying that The Like Young are derivative of them in any way, it's just that I'm so happy to hear this old school "Blue Album" type of sound again! The songwriting on this album is really good in that classic way without being overly classic rock... I know the band lists Buddy Holly and The Everly Brothers as inspirations and that doesn't seem to far off the mark. In some respects, they also share a similar energy that the Mates of State put forth, but I felt that they were more adept at slinging pure pop hooks than the Mates. There is a newer full length CD out on Parasol Records that contains the title track from this EP. I'll probably be checking that out soon.
- review by BY (7.7.03)
Kittridge Records
P.O. Box 662011
Los Angeles, CA 90066
joe@thelikeyoung.com
www.thelikeyoung.com
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