As the release day of their sophomore record ‘What’s So Great, Britain?’ draws ever closer, Indie-punks Youth Killed It share more insights into their thoughts on the current state of our society.
The tone of latest single ‘This Sounds Cliché’ is no different to the other singles taken from the coherent record and sees frontman Jack Murphy take a personal situation and extrapolating it into a modern-day moral, revealing: “It was written about a break up which had no real conclusion. A lot of things were ultimately left unsaid and as a result, communication broke down. The song is about just how hard it can be nowadays, especially for young couples, to hold together relationships with the influence of social media and temptation. We think that values moving forward and evolving is positive but, as humans, we must not lose the ability to communicate face to face.”
With a line-up completed by guitarists Carlos Montero and Josh Arter-Taylor, Josh Thexton on bass and Ben Ford on drums, Youth Killed It say “it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly our sound comes from, somewhere deep within the recesses of our minds probably”. The members have an eclectic range of tastes, from funk to indie, to alt-rock, blues, and prog-metal. In fact, their varied tastes can be no better demonstrated than by listening to their YKI material, whilst knowing they began life as metal band ‘Under The Influence’. Reforming in 2016 with their current moniker and aspirations of “writing songs about never doing the dishes, hating their day jobs and having fun”, they signed with Rude Records on the strength of 2 EPs, before releasing their debut album ‘Modern Bollotics’ in mid-2017. The quintet aims to “not take things too seriously in a world where everything is taxing and exhausting.”
Initially working with a production team on ‘What’s So Great, Britain?’, the Norwich crew had a rethink and opted to self-record at Crystal Sound Studios, with Murphy explaining: “Our sound just wasn’t where we wanted it to be, so Carlos and I produced it. It gave us more time and fewer restrictions. It really is from start to finish a band job: no extra writers, no producers, just us”. Capturing a raw and impassioned rabble comparable to the likes of The Clash, Arctic Monkeys, and Blur, they return with more nostalgic 90’s riffs, stream-of-consciousness vocal deliveries, and charming hooks. Murphy declares: “Our sound has developed and matured into something I’m seriously proud of. I hope it resonates the way I want it to, as me and the boys put everything into it and as much as I love the last one, this one really is close to my heart.”
