Younger Brother

For their first half-dozen years, Younger Brother were primarily a project between psy-trance producer Benji Vaughan (aka Prometheus) and Simon Posford (of legendary psybient duo Shpongle). Sadly, at some point in the past four years, overreaching vocalist Ruu Campbell (who appeared sparingly on three tracks from the Younger Brother's spectacular sophomore release, The Last Days of Gravity in 2007) became a full-time member. With Ruu's banal, hackneyed voice, spewing lyrics that swing for deep but pop up trite, strangling the life and creativity out of every track, the Younger Brother aesthetic has shifted from a cutting-edge, experimental trance rock hybrid to something more like a poorly realized collaboration between Coldplay and U.N.K.L.E. With its Speak & Spell, heavily processed vocals, and Ruu used in moderation, "Safety In Numbers" is one of the rare moments on Vaccine worthy of the Younger Brother name. Of course, artists should experiment with their craft, and Simon and Benji are truly talented producers ― nobody does what they can do nearly as well. So why they would attempt to make an album of trend-following, vocal-saturated cafe electronica so far outside of their comfort zone and skill-set is beyond me. This Vaccine is more of a virus, sure to spread fast among those who hadn't heard of them before while killing much of their existing fan base.