Other Summers

Like its title suggests, Young Boy's debut LP Other Summers evokes the hazy, late Augusts of yesteryear, particularly those of the late-'80s when bands like Love & Rockets and Dream Academy were releasing blissed-out, low-key, college rock classics. It's this world where half-brothers Alessandro Baris and Joseph Desler Costa seem to find their strength and influence as they deliver a charming and thoughtful debut. While a shared love for classic indie and college rock music guides the album's overall aesthetic, the story of how the band came together holds a lot more weight. After being separated at a young age, the two essentially lost touch, with Baris growing up in Italy and Costa in the U.S. Over time, the two struck up some casual communication, bonding over music until they both realized (well into adulthood) they wanted to find a way to work together. After trading song ideas back and forth long-distance, Costa finally traveled to Italy, where the siblings were reunited and recorded this album. This lifetime of physical estrangement adds a certain depth and poignancy to the 11 songs on Other Summers, which range from dreamy, guitar-based indie to warm, melancholic synth pop. There is an undercurrent of lost time, and their retro-leaning style comes across more as wistfully nostalgic than hip and referential. Unlike so many of their dream pop-revivalist contemporaries, Young Boy know the value of a good hook, and their well-written songs remain largely unburied by endless chambers of reverb and effects. Songs like "Rides Away" and "Wagons" are tastefully made pop gems in the mold of Love & Rockets' "All In My Mind" or Modern English's "I Melt with You." This is a lovely album full of solid songwriting, detailed production, and bearing a uniquely personal character that should help it stand out among the crowd.