Causeway Youth : This Isn’t Where I Want To Be
Causeway Youth's debut EP is a roller-coaster ride from start to end – a reflection of the past, recollections and love inherent to growing up young. Two years since their emergence on single Ride The Waves, their first proper effort packs all of the slow-burners and party-worthy anthems to accompany the youthful rush they portray.
With buttery-smooth guitar chords, the band open the EP with the slow yet anticipative entrance of This Is How It Begins, as they build adrenaline-pumping drums seamlessly into You Got Me. The track is where the release truly kicks off, as the band begins touching on their resonant musings on love and mellowed hope in romantic pursuit: “I will bet a fortune on you / To show you how I really feel”, Jazreel-Anne croons. Despite its moody lyricism, the song relishes in comfortingly lush indie rock energy, with its grooves spurring it into a poignant cut of yearning. From the outset, Causeway Youth establish their strengths, as Jazreel-Anne’s deep but incisive vocals cut through their dream pop instrumentals, allowing for their concerns to speak to us directly, and resonate in their songs.
As the record progresses, they begin exploring their themes in further depth: indeed, what is love or life without that bit of self-doubt? On Small Talk, the band conjures an ode to the experience of being tongue-tied, as Jazreel-Anne concedes amongst lush soundscapes: “Small Talk is something I can't do / But I'll try I'll do it just for you,” she sings. Meanwhile, they flip the script on Places, dialling up an assertive front both sonically and lyrically with its start-stop guitar patterns and powerful refrains. In its ending verses, they evoke as much strength as regret: “There's nothing left...”, they repeat upon a soaring crescendo.
“I'll be out in the open sea / So won't you ride the waves with me?,” Jazreel-Anne croons on the EP’s upbeat closer. In a sense, the invitation summarises the strengths of their debut as a whole, as they scoop up track after track of ethereal summer anthems. Breezy and yet brimming with nostalgia, its lushness never loses its lustre, delivering and improving upon the promises that they teased on their initial singles. Cohesive, tight and exciting, This Isn't Where I Want To Be proves to be a promising debut EP for Causeway Youth.