If you’ve been a fan of Young People since their beginnings in 2001, you just may take a listen to their new release All At Once and smack yourself saying “Jeez, Young People today..”. Couldn’t resist - it’s going to be up-hill from here Mr Editor, honest.

Oh, just how I wish Young People’s album All At Once went up-hill from the eerie and jittery opener R and R which you could say is what you’ll need after a listen. It’s one of the most moody, dark, shady and restless albums I’ve heard so far this year. Which I’m not saying is a problem, however, if it lacks a climax and a purpose like this album seems to then it’s a bit of a waste.

All At Once sounds dramatic – with Katie Eastburns vocals bursting from a whimper or a whisper to a yell and a shout in the blink of an eye. They sound smooth and sweet but when mixed over the brooding, film score instrumentals it sounds contradicting. Heavily distorted, swirling guitars layer throughout All At Once which contrasts fantastically with the light peppering of piano. A distant throbbing, medieval drum taps away throughout many of the songs. An almost army inspired drum beat is rattled during Slow Moving Storm.

Young People have some fantastic ideas stretched out over All At Once. A clapping beat is looped throughout the song Reapers, a jazzy drum beat is thrashed throughout Forget and some amazing reverberating guitar and vocals makes a great intro to On The Farm.

However, it seems like the execution and application of these ideas is the reason for the downfall to this record. The sound, noises and ideas lack hooks and sound too minimalist. There wasn’t a real lot that compelled me to stay on board and continue listening. The songs just seemed to begin, build up to something, stay that way for a few minutes and end with a major anti-climax.

Young People have great potential and do have some great ideas. It seems they may had bitten off a bit more than they could chew on All At Once or aimed for something a bit too big that they couldn’t quite pull off. I’m hoping they take all the idea’s from All At Once and flip them into a positive for their next release.