Gabby Young And Other Animals
With a list of accolades as long as a pair of stripey tights, Gabby Young And Other Animals, (otherwise known as the 'World’s Finest Purveyors of Circus Swing' - Clive Anderson, Loose Ends on Radio 4) release their new highly anticipated album, ‘The Band Called Out For More’, on 11th June 2012.
Written by Gabby and her partner Stephen Ellis, who also produces, this 13 track work represents a giant sonic step forward. Its colourful avant-garde sound, with lush orchestration, horns and quiet melodies, exudes the best bits of music hall, burlesque, 1920s flapper music, Nouvelle Vague cinema and torch songs.
Indeed, Gabby comes across like Rufus Wainwright’s other younger sister - bred perhaps on a diet of Bjork, Imogen Heap, and Joanna Newsom - as she sets out winningly to reinvent her own genre, Circus Swing. ‘My sound’s matured,’ is all she’ll say. ‘I’ll admit that. I’ve honed my craft. I’m very happy and settled where I wasn’t before. ‘
Lead single ‘In Your Head’ (also out June 11) allows fans to connect with the party tempo of the first album. Its witty animated interactive promo, in which you can ‘choose’ which animal to be saved from an evil ringmaster, was produced by Gabby’s friend Georgina Hurcombe (Lovelove Films). A metaphor for the music industry? ‘Perhaps,’ sighs Gabby, with a smile.
Other highlights? ‘Goldfish Bowl’s jauntiness, which belies its feelings of ‘being trapped’ (‘one look takes me down a peg and breaks me’), whilst the catchy horn-infused ‘Walk Away’, Gabby’s is first song written on piano, and builds to a celebratory climax.
The slower tracks stand out particularly: The Answer’s In The Question’s incessant analysis of a relationship; the contemplative trumpet-tinged ‘Honey,’ Gabby’s personal favourite and, most impressively, ‘Male Version Of Me’, a quiet accordion-tinged paean to finding a soulmate.
But fear not, there are hoedown moments aplenty too: ‘Horatio’ is one such, and closing track ‘The Band Called Out For More’ sees Gabby morph into some crazed Edith Piaf.
‘Segment’ opens quietly before building into an almighty strings-charged Arcade Fire-style workout, whilst the album’s masterpiece is the serpentine ‘Neither Beginning Nor The End’, a spine-tingling mid-tempo classic, complete with operatic flourishes, before an abrupt finish leaves the listener needing more. ‘Some of my songs have meanings that not even I am clear about - and this is one of them,’ she says.