There aren’t many bands with names that better describe their sound than Lust For Youth. The project was previously the solo project of Hannes Norrvide, and albums like Perfect View and Growing Seeds captured the blurry red and blue desire felt in underground dance clubs when you stayed much later than you’re actually supposed to, leaving the place just to see the sun rising. His music was ostensibly lo-fi, dirty, and very much danceable.
That’s changing a bit on the next record, International. Like the album’s first single “Epoetin Alfa”, “Armida” sheds the lo-fi aesthetic that was so readily apparent on Norrvide’s other music under the Lust For Youth name. The new tracks see the addition of singer/songwriter Loke Rahbek and producer/guitarist Malthe Fisher to the former solo effort, and their influence can definitely be heard on “Armida”. Lust For Youth have never been more danceable, never been darker. The song’s skeletal beat is drenched in synths, bringing to mind the new wave sensibilities of Depeche Mode and New Order. The vocals are a welcome surprise, a perfect complement to the brooding kineticism of the electronic rhythms and melodies. It’s no surprise that the main hook is: “And the words will shake your feet/And I saw you lose control/Control was out of your reach/Out there you let it go.” Lust For Youth have also let it go, and that’s definitely a good thing if “Armida” is any indication.
International is out June 10 via Sacred Bones Records.
