Gold & Youth

The members of Gold & Youth are relative newcomers to the world of electronic music, most of them having cut their teeth with the more rock-oriented Racoons, but Beyond Wilderness effectively captures the spirit of vintage synth-pop. The 11 songs that make up this debut album brim with expansive synths and chiming guitar licks, every one of which sounds sonically pristine. Not all of the melodies stick, meaning that the album is a tad uneven, but the band make up for this with some clear standout cuts; band member Louise Burns (a respected solo artist in her own right) takes the lead and channels Kate Bush on the swooning "Jewel," and she conjures up moody drama when she harmonizes with frontman Matthew Lyall on the closing "Time to Kill." These tracks draw heavily '80s new wave, but some songs exhibit more modern influences — Broken Social Scene on "Tan Lines," TV on the Radio on "Young Blood" — prevent the album from sounding quaint or anachronistic.