Young Rival is returning to Kingston on Jan. 27 to give us a taste of their new psychedelic sound.
The Hamilton band hasn’t stopped moving since the release of their most recent album Interior Light. They recently supported Toronto band Born Ruffians on their North American tour and then finished off 2015 with a few headlining shows. They’re now preparing for their tour by hitting up classic spots across Ontario and then heading to Europe.
Before they kick off their Ontario tour at the Grad Club, The Journal had the opportunity to chat with Queen’s alumni and Young Rival drummer Noah
Fralick, Arts ’06.
“That’s almost 10 years ago, that’s crazy,” Fralick said. “Time really flies.”
During his time at Queen’s, he studied Philosophy and Political Studies.
“When I graduated Queen’s, that’s when I was really focused on being a musician,” he said.
During his time at school he remained part of the trio — despite being in a different city than his bandmates — as it developed into today’s Young Rival. This time, he played shows on weekends with the band in both Hamilton, their hometown, and in Kingston.
“Right when Arcade Fire was exploding, they had a show at Clark Hall Pub and we opened that show,” Fralick said.
“There was a lineup of about a thousand people down the show trying to get in. It was very surreal.”
Since that performance, the band has developed a new name — they were previously called The Ride Theory — and their sound.
Young Rival’s most recent album, Interior Light, was released in October 2015 via Paper Bag Records. The album is the unlikely love child of their 21st century indie garage-pop band and some 60s psychedelic drugs.
Members of Young Rival have been using the term “croon psych” to define their latest album.
“It doesn’t have any reference point, but it works really well for what we’re trying to pull off,” Fralick said.
He said the term came out of a comical conversation they had in the studio with their producer, Graham Walsh. Walsh has worked on albums for a plethora of bands, including Alvvays and Viet Cong, and he’s also a member of Toronto-based electronica band Holy Fuck.
“It’s very unfunny to anyone that wasn’t there,” Fralick said. “When you are really focused on a record and spending all your energy on it, day after day, in the studio, you sort of start losing your mind and becoming a
bit unhinged.”
However, the term still captures the band’s sound.
“We like a lot of old 50s sounding stuff — Roy Orbison and the element of Sinatra,” Fralick said. It’s a genre that vocalist Aron D’Alesio captures quite well. The band then pairs that sound with a “psychy atmosphere” to complete the “croon psych” sound.
Fralick remembers his time at Queen’s with nostalgia — he reminisced on his affinity for Common Ground coffee and playing shows at his favourite venue, The Grad Club.
“I love that [The Grad Club] still exists. It feels the same way now that it did. It’s a really good institution that is really doing things right, and it’s nice to see that being consistent,” he said.
The venue will provide an intimate house party setting for past fans and newcomers alike to see two Kingston favourites, Young Rival and The Lost Cousins, play together next Wednesday.
Tags
Concert, the Grad Club, Young Rival
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