“She saved my number to her phone (with a maple leaf),” sings Young Friend (stylized young friend). These upbeat and ear-catching lyrics mark the start of young friend’s sophomore album, motorcycle sound effects. Every song on the album is incredible, marked by young friend’s signature raspy vocals and bright guitar.
Young friend is the alias of Canadian artist Drew Tarves, a 25-year-old from Vancouver. Tarves grew up on music, and released his debut album HOW DID WE GET HERE? when he was just 22. Tarves draws from indie inspirations such as Phoebe Bridgers and Bon Iver, leading him to create his own distinct sound on both HOW DID WE GET HERE? and motorcycle sound effects.
The start of motorcycle sound effects immediately draws you in, bringing high energy and an intriguing sound with golden rule. The song paints a picture of a relationship that never began, contrasting its cheery guitar with downhearted lyrics. The album gets slower as it advances, with songs like sweet tooth and the real deal being low energy love songs, continuing the motif of contrasting lyrics and melodies.
Further into the album the songs begin to flow into each other, leading to the listener feeling like they’ve just listened to one song, as opposed to five separate songs. This effect only grows interest, as you have to be actively listening to fully understand the album.
The lyricism of the album is fantastic, from upbeat songs like loose apologizing for messing up a relationship and claiming “I think I’m about to break loose” to soft songs like sweet tooth reminiscing on a past relationship and wondering what went wrong. While indie artists can sometimes fall into the trap of being too basic or too complex with their lyrics, young friend hits the nail on the head by saying exactly what he means while simultaneously telling a story.
While the middle of the album slows down, it picks up again at the end with i like girls and boyfriend energy. young friend has mastered the art of album-making by drawing listeners in with dynamic beats, then capturing them with gentle tunes before picking the energy up again to surprise the listener. With relatable lyrics and catchy tunes, Motorcycle Sound Effects is an immediate hit.
