Wasted Youth

Following Go Periscope's eponymous debut, Florin Merano and Joshua Frazier of the Seattle electro-indie band aimed to make a sophomore album rich in lyrical narratives and darker textures. The opening song on Wasted Youth, “Burning Out the Sun,” succeeds not only in that but also in building wintry synthesizer-founded soundscapes that don’t succumb to '80s retrospection, save for sublime and shadowy overtones that might appeal to recovering goths from that decade. The fetching single “Wasteland” dips into a cosmopolitan sound that both paves and explores the futuristic directions of dance-pop. Producer and jack-of-all-trades Semaj Foreman helps pepper “Black Light Masquerade” with hints of dubstep, while the similarly infectious “Break Free” bestows a deeper wobble without going full bass-drop. Wasted Youth is EDM first and foremost, but songs like “Silver Wings” pulse with a European-flavored pop sophistication that would sit well on a mix alongside bands like Air, Daft Punk, and Phoenix. “Make Believers” works in Auto-Tuned singing over haunting melodies and a throbbing, seductive rhythm.