Album Review: Young Guns ‘Ones and Zeros’
Shots are fired early on ‘Ones and Zeros,’ and, from that point onward, Young Guns never take their finger off the trigger. Over the course of the last few years, these London-based lads have emerged as one of the UK’s premiere powerhouses, and, with this latest release, the safety has come off of these Young Guns, and they’re shooting for even greater heights.
Released via Wind-Up Records, ‘Ones and Zeros’ swells with the high-octane opener ‘Rising Up,’ as symphonic elements pave the way for a powerful main riff that’s instantly infectious. There’s an electricity about the track that’s tangible — the kind of sonic spark that will have listeners “rising up” en masse wherever they happen to be.
‘I Want Out’ opens in similar fashion: foot on the gas and finger on the trigger. While the overall intensity is dialed down a bit, the underlying energy of ‘Rising Up’ remains intact. A solid follow-up.
Young Guns take aim at something more mainstream with ‘Infinity’ and delve into a bit of melancholy with ‘Memento Mori,’ as ‘Ones and Zeros’ continues along the sonic (and symphonic) spectrum.
Whether you attribute it to prime production value, collaborative cohesion, solid song structure, (or some combination thereof), there’s no denying that Young Guns hit their mark on ‘Ones and Zeros’ in a manner that’s nothing short of masterful. They navigate the terrain between the heavy and the accessible with deft hands — catchy enough to appeal to the mainstream, yet edgy enough to placate the “purists” — and, in this regard (as with many others on the album) their aim is true.
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