- Music
- 06 Jul 18
Years & Years frontman, Olly Alexander, remains unapologetically camp in the band’s latest project Palo Santo . From stripped back professions of love to soon-to-be club favourites, the English group deliver an exquisite selection that will transport listeners into a musical timewarp.
Continuing their signature sound of fusing psychedelic pop with soft harmonies, the album drags listeners by the elbow through a deliberately unstructured narrative, where any moment you could be confronted with an ex-lover or a summer romance. On that note, early track ‘All For You’ is a euphoric pop ballad about the feeling of relief over leaving a toxic lover, while ‘Karma’ is seductive and raw, navigating the gameplay that happens within a budding romance.
Years & Years are no strangers to religious references in their music and continue this theme for Album No.2. Their first album title was Communion , while this one takes its name from the Spanish word for Holy Wood. Several of the album’s song titles also bear religious iconography. Album opener ‘Sanctify’ speaks about being a sinner and a saint in the art of seduction, recounting feelings of guilt in taking part in the act of lovemaking, before quickly tossing those feelings out the window and launching into a detailed account of lovemaking.
‘Hallelujah’ picks up the pace from ‘Sanctify’ with a heavily synthesised club beat. It explores the feeling of glory and exhilaration of being close to someone.
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Years & Years unique blend of tropical sounds over sweet harmonies will continue to please the band’s original fanbase, while Olly Alexander’s unapologetic and candid lyrics about falling in love – and explicitly stating that the love is male – assures his status as a modern queer icon.
8.5/10