Review: Young Hines – Give Me My Change
Published on May 30th, 2012 | Jonny Abrams
Discovered and subsequently produced by Brendan Benson, this Atlanta-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter has turned in a debut album that fully merits the demanded recompense of its title.
The title track is an instant classic, a vampy stomper with a menacing edge and a lyrical relentlessness that goes on to characterise the LP. Just when you think you’ve got Hines pegged as some kind of renaissance bluesman, though, he turns in the breezy acoustic pop of “Don’t Break My Fall”, a masterful convergence of light and shade with the kind of melodic instinct common – nay, a prerequisite of – every artist on Lojinx‘s burgeoning roster.
This dynamic sustains itself consummately across the record – the bouncy Beatles pop of “Keep Me Goin'” leads into the discordant swamp blues of “No One Knows” (sample lyric: “I’ve never known someone to paint themselves into a corner then walk out of the room / I guess they should have known by the way you strolled with white paint on the soles of your shoes”), which erupts halfway through with crunchy guitar and crazed wails of “no!”, making for a tumultuous, tempestuous form of riotous fun.
“Just Say No (Sometimes)” sounds like a big, fat country-pop hit in the making, “Hold You and Scold You” sounds like latter-day Beatles at their bluesiest, “Rainy Day” is jangly acoustic pop perfection reminiscent of “Anecdote” by the sadly overlooked Ambulance LTD, while the shouty, angsty “Can’t Explode” very much can, in fact does. Similarly, the sublime “Lost in the Mix” reminds of Big Star classic “Thirteen”, which for all that such comparisons can be unwelcome is resoundingly a good thing.
Wryly titled closer “Forever Young” is wistfully bouncy, McCartney-esque showboating, trumpet solo and all, bringing Give Me My Change to an end on a rather magnificent note. It may wear its influences wholeheartedly on its sleeve, but Young Hines’s debut album is a splendid listen nonetheless.
Rocksucker says: Four Quails out of Five!
Give Me My Change is out now on Lojinx. For more information, including a list of live dates, please visit younghines.com
About the Author
Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.
