Who is Young Galaxy, exactly? Just when you had the band pegged as an Arts and Crafts brand extension—a minor-league Stars or Broken Social Scene—it hooks up with Swedish dance producer Dan Lissvik, break out the drum machines and keyboards and drop Shapeshifting on Paper Bag Records. I’m tempted to consider the shift a cynical one, except that it ends up producing the band’s most engaging album by a good margin. Even if the melodies only occasionally end up as memorable as the soundscapes, the ones that do—such as the fantastic lead single “We Have Everything”—roll with an effortless, hummable bounce. It doesn’t answer the identity question, but it’s an enjoyable response nonetheless.
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2011.