Young Scum - “Lighter Blue”

Back in 2018, Richmond, Virginia’s Young Scum released their self-titled debut. The low-budget video for the album’s lead single, “Freak Out,” pieced together clips from various 90s and 2000s commercials, television shows, and video games, including Arthur, Gushers, Pokemon, and more. As a YouTuber sufficiently described, it left listeners/viewers “nostalgic for a time that’s hard to describe.” That sentiment, inadvertently or not, captured the spirit of the whole record. Tracks like “Itchy Sweater,” “Sloth,” and “Wasting Time” were transportive in their ability to invoke waves of nostalgia. Whether it was through lovelorn lyrics like “I never thought I’d kiss you, now I miss you, now I miss you all the time“, gooey harmonies, or chiming guitar melodies, Young Scum was able to bottle up an indescribable feeling of youthful innocence through their music.

Their long-awaited second full-length, Lighter Than Blue, is now on the horizon, and the title track has all the trimmings of a bonafide indie pop classic. “Lighter Blue” commences with a ramshackle jangle that segues into lyrics focusing on relationship-related feelings of regret and the perils of overthinking social interactions. They have a very Monday morning quarter-back woulda, shoulda, coulda vibe to them that most folks can relate to, including what I assume is a near-universal, pre-bedtime ritual: “Instead of going straight to bed, I stayed awake with thoughts in my head.” Frontperson Chris Smith delivers these words in a warm, inviting, and relatable way.

Stream the track below!

Lighter Than Blue is set for release on September 8th via Pretty Olivia Records. You can pre-order the album on vinyl via Bandcamp. You can also listen to their music on your streaming platform of choice. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram.