Youth Avoiders

Youth Avoiders (2013)

Rich Cocksedge

Youth Avoiders are from Paris, France; well, all except one of them, who is from Germany, so for all intent and purposes it's okay to refer to Youth Avoiders as a French group. They make a highly desirable racket courtesy of the instruments and voices at their disposal and should be complemented on those efforts. Following a couple of 7-inches and a variety of demos released on vinyl and/or cassette over the last few years, it was definitely time for this five-piece to take that leap onto a larger slab of vinyl, one which would allow it to cement the group's status as probably the best French-based band around at the moment.

There are a number of identifiable record labels that spring to mind when listening to Youth Avoiders, such as Sorry State, Dirtnap and Grave Mistake. This is frantic, trebly, guitar-based music that relies on a sense of chaos blended with just a hint of melody to create an irresistible punk rock sound. Think unequal measures of Royal Headache, Low Culture and the Shirks and that's sort of how Youth Avoiders come across (and give it a working title of Royal Culture Shirks!).

The first 35 seconds of opener "Cold Mines" does not in any way provide a clue of what's to follow, as it's quite a relaxed opening that changes from calm to bonkers as if a switch is flicked. It's a whole new ballgame from then on in for around twenty minutes. There are a number of standout tracks like "Grit Your Teeth" (which manages to somehow call to mind Minor Threat), "Affliction" (the catchiest track on the album that also features keyboards to add some depth) and "Oil Slick" (it's just a very good song).