Youth Medium

Davenport, IA's finest indie rock cowboys, the Marlboro Chorus, continues their steady release schedule with their second full-length album in less than two years' time, Youth Medium. Recorded on a 16-track analog on the other side of the Upper Mississippi River in Rock Island, IL, Youth Medium is a bit more tasty in medium lightness and orange-colored radiance versus Good Luck and the Entangled EP. The Marlboro Chorus, always leisurely in mood, like to make records, plain and simple. If you've completely missed the point of their quirky pop melodies up to this point, chances are you won't understand the brilliance of Youth Medium. Pat "B. Patric" Stolley, Gary Heitman, and Marty "Rudie" Reyhons maintain their own clever wit made famous by the Elephant 6 crew throughout the mid- to late- 1990s while writing basic, fun rock songs. Indie rock isn't what it used to be, even ten years ago. The Marlboro Chorus' D.I.Y. approach couldn't be more perfect; from the the Replacements-esque "Don't Sweat the Fallout" and the brassy, hollowed jaunt of "Takin' a Ride" to the honky tonk harmonies and funk-driven bass of "Dark America," Youth Medium preserves the Marlboro Chorus' classic niceness. "You'll be a Maze" calls out all the city girls as the Marlboro Chorus goes punk rock, Beulah would be proud. Folk-tinged acoustic guitars dress up the twangy ballad "Those Shoes" while the album's title track bounces with honest to goodness pop splendor. It's an overall pop affair, much more hi-fi than what they've done previously. In just three albums, B. Patric's experiment has turned into this fantastic venture of pure, satisfying rock & roll. Three time's a charm: Youth Medium once again succeeds in style and substance; humor and grace. It pays to keep things close to home like the Marlboro Chorus has done from the start.