Formed in 2008 by Craig Dyer, The Underground Youth embarked on a journey which spans a collection of 10 albums and 4 EPs. Along their evolution, their sound has traversed diverse territories, from atmospheric lo-fi psychedelia to an emotive and gritty blend of post- punk which exudes rawness and romantic melancholy. Their music is embedded with an alluring kind of darkness, and draws inspiration from the imagery of different art film movements.
The band's eleventh studio album, Nostalgia's Glass, arrives on August 18th, 2023 via Fuzz Club, and I Thought I Understood is the first example off it.
The track finds the band at a relatively more laid back mode, true to their post punk sound characterized by somber and melancholic undertones. The release of the single is accompanied by a music video directed by Parker Love Bowling.
Craig Dyer describes the impending full length: “Nostalgia’s Glass looks back at the music of The Underground Youth, forming new songs in a style reminiscent of the band's past, whilst lyrically condemning the nostalgia that the album is itself guilty of. I Thought I Understood was the first track for the album that I wrote following the above mentioned objective to write about nostalgia, in this song's case an unhealthy obsession with the past.”
Dyer goes on to comment on the album's themes: “When faced with making the eleventh record of your musical projects career, you think long and hard about the direction you wish to take. Do you look at what is currently popular and aim to carve out a space for yourself in the modern music which you currently enjoy, or do you look back at the foundations upon which your band has built its name and fanbase? This nostalgic sense of looking over one's shoulder to the past ended up influencing both the musical style of this new record and the subject matter of each track.
“The aim became to create a collection of songs that paid homage to our back catalogue, whilst implementing all that had been learnt along the way. I attempted to dissect not only the positive but the negative elements of nostalgia, primarily the romanticisation of the past, be it the politics of a country, the controversial legacies of film and musical icons or the sentimental idealisation of long dead toxic relationships.”
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ZR