Youth Sector and the acerbic brain rattling reflection of "Free Parking" (Official Visualizer)

 

"there's nothing like it / there's nothing like it / 5 miles 6 miles / there's nothing like it around here!"

Listening to the acerbic clown punching bagginess of "Free Parking" by Brighton art-rockers Youth Sector and you feel gleefully pushed around, like the one guy in the mosh pit who leave unscathed. Amid the synth lines and yelpy shouty vocal countenance that made me think of an amalgam of Jello Biafra (The Dead Kennedys) and Pelle Almqvist (The Hives) which may or may not make sense but like Youth Sector themselves I throw it out there without pretense. The press notey stuff metion Devo and Talking Heads as distant cousins and whether I agree or not, I can see the the comparison. 

For me, Youth Sector provides a balanced approach between artful fun and artful subversion. Their tightly wound sweaty sound is perfect in it's both audacious and nuanced approach in how the musical puzzle pieces fit together. For me there are ghosts or nods to 80's new wave, of course, but also late 70's proto punk or sideways iterations of power pop into a fusion of pop / rock  / punk as in the likes Television and The Modern Lovers. Oh and I could write a whole paragraph on the plucky bass sound alone but will not. I love it so much though. 

From their EP "Quarrels" and as press notes note, "Free Parking" – a metaphor for fears of getting old and boring which morphs into a surreal tale of trying to find parking spaces in an imaginary toy village.

Of the song the band shares:

“This one comes from the bones of an old song that got started years ago but it wasn't quite there. I always liked the riff and I had the "four miles, five miles" sections so never quite tossed it out, and eventually in 2021 had another stab at it and overhauled most of the original song. In all its iterations though, the song has always been about the fear of getting old and boring, and the "four miles, five miles for free parking" line refers to those dull exchanges grumbling about how far you had to go to find somewhere to park. In the final version, the metaphor took a life of its own and morphed into a surreal town planning session where I deal with the logistical issues of finding parking for the residents of a toy village: "these plastic people's plastic permits only work in the week / how will they meet their plastic pals if they can't park on the cheap?"

My feeling about "Free Parking", my urgent main thought is how society tends to make all us individuals into a human template having to do the same thing, feel the same way and sometimes be all the same human until you get to the age where you will have none of it. Sometimes though, it is too late. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://www.facebook.com/youthsectorband

https://twitter.com/youthsectorband

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1XnUwbBjDTUUAABC7cEixy

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcLF460fMc1lxhGVpalxUnQ

https://www.instagram.com/youthsectorband/


Brighton-based Youth Sector’s music is a coiled spring of urgency and unpredictable energy; while lyrically offering a sense of catharsis for the confusion of modern adult life.


Taking influence from art school greats DEVO and Talking Heads, the Brighton 5 piece never revel in bleakness, managing to twist everyday narratives into music that is quite the opposite being upbeat, full of energy and with irresistible choruses you can’t help but sing along with.


Having taken a DIY approach to touring the UK and EU across their last EP ‘Adult Contemporary’ the band will release their next EP through Leeds label Dance to the Radio off the back of support from Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Dork, Line of Best Fit, Gigwise, DIY, Radio X and 6music. A hugely entertaining live act Youth Sector have played shows and toured with Goat Girl, Darwin Deez, Cheap Teeth, Our Girl, Courting and Walt Disco as well as picking up a bunch of festivals in the UK and EU over the last year.

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