The Brazen Youth: A New Addition to Your Melancholic Indie Lineup
A young band with a uniquely somber sonic palette, The Brazen Youth finds a balance between melody and ambiance across their discography.
Written and photographed by Andres Garcia
The Brazen Youth consists of songwriters and longtime friends Nic Lussier and Charlie Dahlkey joined on drums by Micah Rubin. Will Orchard currently holds down the low end, filling in as their touring bassist. With aesthetics comparable to other contemporary melancholic indie folk artists such as Big Thief, The Felice Brothers, Wilco, Fruit Bats, and Angel Olsen, The Brazen Youth are helping define this new era of edgy Americana music.
The Brazen Youth’s discography has aged like Benjamin Button. Their two albums, The Ever Dying Bristlecone Man (2016) and Primitive Initiative (2018), saw an era of extremely mature, gloomy, and ambient songwriting. Many of the songs feel like they were written by old, downtrodden souls struggling to catch their breath. Their newest release, an EP entitled 15 Billion Eyes (2019), sees the group finally exhale. It is playful, urgently paced, and breathes life into their respective genre.
This isn’t to say the lyrical content of 15 Billion Eyes is void of profundity, however. Where some tracks on the project lull you into the narrator’s unique universe, others open you to certain universalities such as longing, uncertainty, and coping. The project is almost deceptive: it opens on a fun and quirky note, but once you’ve hit the midpoint, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore the impatient longing that the songs convey.
“Don’t cry an ocean… just a creek. I’m just trying to be realistic. New love will set
out to seek.”
- “No Cat No Cradle”“My eyes are open, but through what lens?”
- “I Don’t Wanna Take Too Much”“I don’t want to live in misery; I pushed the past away.”
- “Empathy”
In other words, The Brazen Youth’s first two projects feel heavy. They feel premeditated. It’s music for people who were just on the verge of drowning, now safe at shore, shaken. 15 Billion Eyes feels the product of a person with a nervous mind. It is spastic, like written to the cadence of an anxious person’s leg bouncing. It has hills and valleys and unexpected turns. It shows us a Brazen Youth that is reclaiming their lives.
Recommended tracks for when you’re…
Happy — “I Don’t Wanna Take Too Much”
Sad — “Emma”
Sad (But Vibing) — “Cry For The Aliens”
In Love — “Burn Slowly / I Love You”
Pondering Existence — “Death:posed”
The Brazen Youth will soon be wrapping up their headlining tour and joining Spendtime Palace on a tour of the West Coast. Follow them on instagram @thebrazenyouth and twitter @TheBrazenYouth. Listen to their music on Spotify.