With Adult Contemporary, Youth Sector take a bold leap toward harnessing how it feels to navigate life during a time of persistent political turmoil, turning it into a sound of feverish intensity. Songs on Adult Contemporary employ a playful tension, often loaded with the threat of unpredictability that – in a flurry of newly-adopted funk and groove elements – come spiraling to life in a carnival of leaping synths and ricocheting basslines.
Much of new EP Adult Contemporary takes aim at a particular sort of societal ill, drawing on the stubborn side of human nature, wayward nationalism, and the climate crisis. Lead single “Self Exile” scrutinized those that double down in the face of being wrong, “No. 1 Bestseller” shone skepticism on the wellness industry, and “Is Blood” asked us to consider the human cost paid by others so that our own land could become rich and prosperous. Today, we hear the EP’s final offering, “Always Always Always”. Guitarist and lead vocalist Nick Tompkins says: “The song is about greed and blind ambition. Trying to understand why some people are driven by the pursuit of acquiring more of whatever it is they have at whatever cost.”
While it is fair to say that thematically the band takes great pleasure in skewering the concept of a Cruel Britannia – they themselves viewing a world strewn with inequality and a failing-upwards political class – the Brighton art-rock 5-piece never revel in bleakness. They manage to twist everyday narratives into music that is quite the opposite; upbeat, and full of positive energy and earworm melodies.
Youth Sector will also be performing live on the following dates.
Feb 24 – The Lexington, London, UK (w/ Home Counties)
Mar 14 – Green Door Store, Brighton, UK
Mar 15 – Heartbreakers, Southampton, UK
Mar 17 – Deadwax Digbeth, Birmingham, UK
Mar 18 – Electrowerks, London, UK (w/ Fake Turins)
Mar 24 – Venn Street Social, Huddersfield, UK
Mar 25 – Polar Bear, Hull, UK (w/ Priestgate)
Mar 27- Crawford Arms, Milton Keynes, UK
Mar 29 – Oporto, Leeds, UK
Mar 30 – Kazimier Stockroom, Liverpool, UK
Apr 10 – Outer Town, Bristol, UK
Apr 16 – Stockton Calling Festival, UK
Apr 30 – Leeds Gold Sounds Fest, Leeds, UK
Jun 10 – Jun 11 – Biarritz Festival, France
