Search - Youth Group :: Skeleton Jar

Indeed one of the best albums of 2005

J. Veilleux | St-Georges, QC, Canada | 10/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After hearing "Shadowland" on Punk-O-Rama 10, I've decided to buy this CD. Wow, it's one of the few albums I've loved after the first listen. One of the things I love the most about this album is that you can listen to it all the way through without getting bored, unlike most indie rock. As other reviwers said, this album isn't perfect. The first 6 songs are amazing but it settles down a bit after, until the beautiful last track, "Piece of Wood". But even the "worst" songs have their charm, mainly due to Toby Martin's plaintive but smooth vocals.



Shadowland: 9.5/10. A great opener, probably the second best song on the album. The instruments all blend in together perfectly and put you in the beautiful, melacholic mood of the album.



Skeleton Jar: 8/10. At first, I didn't really like this song. But it has grown on me and now I love it. The song is a nice crescendo and it gets really interesting at 2:15.



Lillian Lies: 8.5/10. Catchy chorus, great lyrics. Overall really good.



The Frankston Line: 9/10. One of the best songs on the album. Nice bass line, great bridge.



Baby Body: 10/10. Beautiful guitar in the first part, you think it's gonna be another nice and smooth song but the chorus kicks in, and you're now listening to the most rockin' and best song on the album. It reminds me of Coldplay for some reason.



See-Saw: 9.5/10. The longest song on the album but you don't even realize it. Again, great lyrics and hooks everywhere. The chorus leads into a beautiful instrumental part that lasts from 3:50 till the end of the song. The song's almost 7 minutes long but by the end you're asking for more.



Drowned: 8/10. One of the weakest songs on the album but still great.



Last Quarter: 7/10. Probably the worst song on the album, kinda repetitive but nice vocals so it's still an enjoyable listen.



Someone Else's Dreams: 7.5/10. Another more rockin' song. Nice guitars.



Why Don't the Buildings Cry?: 7/10. A little repetitive and boring but again, listenable.



Piece of Wood: 9.5. Amazing lyrics, absolutely beautiful guitars. Toby Martin's voice give me shivers in that song. It will make you want to listen to the whole album over again.



Overall, I give it a 9/10. Maybe not THE best album of 05 but definitely the best indie pop album of the year."

A very good indie rock album by these Australians! Indie roc

C. Cross | 01/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Australian indie rock band Youth Group definitely made a great album with this year's "Skeleton Jar". Though it's not a classic by any means, as a whole it's consistent and even has a couple (lesser) hitworthy tracks (most notably "Shadowland" and "Someone Else's Dream"). The singer verges on being unlikable, but he pulls himself back into the realm of mass appeal. You would never guess that these guys are Australian, because the singer especially sounds American. The album is distinctly indie rock with not too much creativity instrumention-wise, but you won't care about that in the end. Though there are songs that are clearly better than others, "Skeleton Jar" thankfully has no filler. It even manages to be emotional and atmospheric on occasion (I'm not sure how to explain this well, though). Every track here is good. I didn't like it all on the first listen, but it grew on me (so be warned!). It might not be for everyone, but indie rock fans will probably like it a lot! Highly recommended!



Highlights include:

the entire album!"

Really good..........you'll have it on repeat.

Christoph | toledo, OH | 03/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"havent you heard? these guys are like, totally hot right now!!!!omg they had a song on the o.c.!!!!! just kidding.



but seriously despite the fact that they are being idolized by the irritating pseudo indie faction, these guys write some really good songs. the singer has a voice that recalls robert smith from the cure and the songs are all well constructed and cohesive. I especially like the song "shadowland" and the pixies style riff and background shouting on the song "last quarter". some of the songs seem to be about alot of the same things though. there are two songs that seem to be about women with low self-esteem riding on buses. also the singers voice is so mellow and sensitive sounding that when he swears on "why dont the buildings cry" instead of letting you feel his rage it just sounds kind of funny(another low point is that "why dont the buildings cry" is a really stupid name for a song). but overall this is a strong release from a promising new band."