Poor Young Things - "The Heart. The Head. The End." - review!

Poor Young Things are one of the fastest moving rock bands in Canada, waiting for nobody to make things happen for themselves. Since their move from Thunder Bay to Toronto in November 2010, everything seems to be falling into place nicely for the band. In the little over two years since this move, they were signed to Bumstead Records, toured relentlessly, released their debut EP Let It Sleep, won an Emerging Artist of the Year award from Sirius XM, and are now releasing their debut full length album called ‘The Heart. The Head. The End.’ on May 21st. Who knows how far they will go if they keep this momentum going.

Don’t expect any pop rock, folky ballads or electronic sounding gimmicks when you get Poor Young Things, you`re getting nothing but good old fashioned Rock and Roll. Sure, it may not be the formula that most new bands are using to get noticed, but they prove that the tried and true method of forming a rock band and hitting the road hard can still pay off. In 2012 alone they had played in excess of 100 shows across Canada and the United States. These, along with the cross Canada tour they are beginning this month to support this new LP, shows they have no plans of slowing down.

Poor Young Things consists of Matt Fratpietro on lead vocals/guitar, Michael Kondakow and Dave Grant on guitars, Scott Burke on bass and Konrad Commisso on drums. Whether it be the catchy chanting of “wash away your warpaint” in the song Warpaint, the group singing in Revolver, or screaming “The End” on their closing number Ghost Notes, they will have you singing/screaming along before your even through the first listen.

When I reviewed their EP Let It Sleep last year, I was drawn to the great sound that producer/engineer Jon Drew (Arkells) achieved and he is back for more! He always seems to have particularly great mix on the drums. This, along with the damn near perfect instrument levels with the vocals front and center, really makes for a great sounding rock album.

Poor Young Things’ label Bumstead Records, deserves some recognition in their own right. They are really starting to make some noise in the Canadian music scene releasing albums from artists such as The Trew’s, Tim Chaisson and Two Hours Traffic. Bumstead has also been known to release many of their albums on vinyl, so here’s hoping they follow through with a vinyl release of ‘The Heart. The Head. The End.’. The combination of a hard working band like Poor Young Things and a small passionate label like Bumstead Records is a great recipe for success.

Be sure to pick up a copy of this solid debut upon its release next Tuesday, and also mark June 8^th on your calendar as they will be stopping in Fredericton playing at the Lava Vodka Bar. If they keep moving as fast as they have been, this may be your last chance to see them at a small and personal venue like this one.  

Here is a trailer for ‘The Heart. The Head. The End.’ Including their debut single Sign Of The Times.