Among the many hidden treasures of Los Angeles’ DIY underground, Young Lovers have found a sustainable place for themselves through backyard gigs, word of mouth and live performances all over the San Fernando Valley. A sweeping, emotionally raw meditation on love and loss, “Mourning Routine” is a perfect introduction for the uninitiated, taking its sweet time to impress as it takes a slow-motion amble through the darker corners of dream pop, shoegaze and post-rock (in that order). It’s also a striking teaser for the band’s upcoming sophomore album, The Circle’s End, due June 26 via Anxiety Blanket.
Arguably the album’s most immediate song, “Mourning Routine” was conceived as a classic pop single (or at least a Young Lovers version of one), its rhythmic patterns said to be influenced by Ginuwine and the Isley Brothers. Elsewhere, the music draws heavily from classical composition and film scores—par for the course for a band that approaches arrangements with an almost architectural precision.
“Many of our songs, guitar lines, bass lines and overarching structures are constructed in a cyclical fashion,” the band says. “They’re meant to evoke the same unending, seemingly unresolvable feelings that come with grief and trauma. We designed this album so that even if the listener doesn’t have any theoretical background, they still feel the essence of what we’re expressing emotionally.”
We’re proud to premiere Young Lovers’ “Mourning Song.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Young Lovers live.
