poppedmusic

Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow

Released 3rd May 2015

Words: Gary Lambert

A 34 year old fan of real ale and Nick Cave like myself is not the target audience for Young Kato’s energy overload debut album Don’t Wait Til Tomorrow, but it doesn’t stop me enjoying it. Too often music is respected for being heartfelt, tormented and slow paced, but as much as it takes skill to put life’s cruel emotions to a respectful beat and allow the listener to feel the pain the singer is in, we need to acknowledge the skill required to get people off their feet, to put away the real world and dance around. It is the raucous fun of the latter skill which Young Kato proudly show off on their LP.

Opening up with acid-house tinged, Sunshine, gives the band the opportunity to set their stall out immediately. Evocative and dreamy, instantly you are taken to a summer holiday with cold beers and a beach side dance at sunrise. This is going to bring a smile to many faces and I think the likes of E4 and BBC3 will have it soon enough on their go to soundtrack lists.

The party continues without shame on the second track Drink, Dance and Play. There is no hiding from this tune as it encourages exactly what you would expect given the title. It is an instruction, indeed a mantra for the entire album. It is also a song which makes you want to listen to repeatedly until you know the words and can sing along.

Third track, Remedy follows this motif perfectly. Instruments turned up to summer there is no holding back as Children of the Stars and Ultraviolet continue the jangly party atmosphere. Lights changes the ambience of the record though to a more intelligent, electronic pop music. It sounds like a fun version of X&Y era Coldplay.

Yes is in keeping with the style of the album, but feels a lot more grown up and without the pace and bluster of the earlier tracks. Tommy Wright’s vocals take responsibility for the song and it truly stands up as a result. The dame he is singing to should definitely be convinced that he does still love her just as much.

The girl in question could be the lost love of following track Stephanie. With upbeat, eighties-futuristic keyboards the slower pace of the previous song evaporates away in a tale of reminiscence and the futility of attempting to find someone else when your heart has another owner.

Runaway and Revolution are a gorgeous alliterative pairing filled with sweet energy which build up to the final song on the album. Just Say The Word is the biggest song on the album and is the right one to finish one. It might not be the fastest or poppiest, but for me it completes the record. The final bombastic curtain.

Young Kato are a fun band and this is a cracking album to be listened to by the beach or at a party with friends. And it is going to be the album that gets a lot of teenagers into music beyond pop stars. On behalf of the previous generation, I say thanks to Young Kato – and welcome to our world to the newcomers.

Listen to Sunshine here: