If you are an L.A.-area musician who would like to submit music of any genre for review, email a stream or download link to fortherecord@larecord.com.

YOUNG CREATURES
“Something I Don’t Know” 7”
Nomad Eel

Young Creatures—a.k.a. “the Creetch,” if you’re in the know—have spent the better part of the 2010s honing an ethereal and earthy take on indie rock through shows at just about every club in L.A. Their new “Something I Don’t Know / Prisoner of Escape” 7” exists in the same universe as their 2017 The Future is Finally Now LP. Recorded at singer/guitarist/producer Mike Post’s Moosecat studio and featuring guitarist Andrew Gleason doubling on bass, it sets Post’s existential inquisitions and atmospheric arrangements floating over tightly-coiled grooves and fuzz-laden riffs. “Something I Don’t Know” features Post examining “what it means to feel alive” over mid-tempo psychedelia, with he and Gleason’s counterpoint guitars and Michael Escalante’s laid-back drumming recalling Deerhunter’s lighter works. Though he accepts that he “should be over it by now,” nearly sighing as the last chord rings out, B-side “Prisoner of Escape” spins up with a renewed urgency, with Escalante and Gleason’s bass persistently pushing against shimmering tremolo guitars. Here Post admits he was “a cog, distracted all along, without a fate,” but refuses to go any further: “It’s been a while since I had to say that I don’t wanna feel this,” he howls, with major-key bursts of strings heralding his victory over complacency. Young Creatures have arrived at a signature sound and theme, as well as settled into a winning streak. Their 2017 and 2018 releases suggest they’re ready for greater things—let’s hope this is their year.

—Zach Bilson

YOUNG CREATURES’ “SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW” 7” IS OUT NOW ON NOMAD EEL.