Young Bugs‘ songs fall in between the cracks of post-punk, garage rock and indie rock. They’ve got moments where they brilliantly thrash together for a brief, fifteen second moment and then on the next track they’ll be reverting to angular riffs reminiscent of Gang of Four. Quite simply, Young Bugs have cherry picked the best ideas from a variety of sub-genres and melted them down to their purest form to create their newest album Room Damage, which succeeds on a multitude of levels. Opener “Fawn” features a galloping drum beat and a guitar riff that is equal part technical proficiency and equal part danceable groove. The album also avoids the somewhat dour tones that have plagued many post-punk albums of recent years due to its odd structures and upbeat tones. Even the lead single “Forget the Truth”, while on the surface appears to be a straightforward and jangly guitar driven song, uses subtle instrumental flourishes to keep things interesting. It is obvious that care was put into every song in Room Damage, and it shows in how much ground the band covers in 34 minutes. You can stream the video for “Forget the Truth” below and catch them live at Alphaville on July 3. -Tucker Pennington
