Young London

Remember the ‘90s? A time of upbeat, unabashedly sincere pop music. Music that was for everyone, that made you want to dance but felt free of pretension. That’s the era that Boston duo Young London seeks to evoke with their electronic pop songs. Matt Rhodes and Sarah Graziani met in 2010 through a mutual friend and immediately began writing songs together. It was clear from the outset where these songs would go musically. “I like electronic stuff and Sarah is more of an indie pop writer,” Matt says. “Right when we started writing we knew it was going to be electronic and pop mixed together.”

The songs for the duo’s debut album, Young London, were penned quickly and easily, the product of two like-minded musicians bringing their sounds together into something unique. “I think Matt and I make a good team,” Sarah adds. “We come from different musical backgrounds and our influences come together well. It makes a really cool combo when we write together.”

The duo recorded the album with producer Mark Maxwell (Blake Lewis, Boys Like Girls) over the course of two sessions in Los Angeles. The process was natural and seamless, with Mark nurturing the duo’s pop tendencies. “It was more like we were just hanging out,” Matt says of the recording process. “It wasn’t so much about coming up with ideas, it was more about which ones we wanted to stick with because we had so many. Everything we wrote in the beginning ended up on the record in some shape or form, even if only a verse or chorus.”

The final album, an immediate, boisterous electro-pop disc that will be released via Fugitive Recordings, showcases this organic ease. “Let Me Go,” the album’s first single, is a hook-laden dance number that pairs Matt and Sarah’s dynamic vocals. “I feel like that song defines us,” Matt notes. “I feel like it’s the best song on the record.” Meanwhile “U Got Me,” the record’s closing track, finds a quieter, more intimate side of the band, showcasing the Matt and Sarah’s vibrant songwriting. “It wrote itself,” Matt says of “U Got Me.” “It just happened. We sat down and started writing and recorded it in a few minutes. From start to finish it took a couple hours. It was insane. We were tapped into something magical.”

This range is apparent on the entire album, an energized, positive collection of ‘90s throwback numbers. The songs are relatable and genuine, recalling a different era of pop music. In other words, if Danny Tanner invited Daft Punk over for dinner this is what it would sound like. The duo’s live show, which kicked off at SXSW 2011, is also notably dynamic and exciting, employing a full band onstage, as well as “a lot of lasers and glitter throwing.” Young London, who toured with the Justin Timberlake-signed FreeSol in 2011, plan to bring these glitter-filled shows everywhere in support of the album in 2012.

“I hope our music and our album inspire a lot of singing into hairbrushes and inappropriate dancing,” Sarah says. “We can't wait to get these songs out there.”