Chicago’s Young Man In A Hurry celebrates the release of their second full-length record, Other People, which is due out February 11th. The album was recorded live in-studio and produced and mixed by Brian Deck (Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) and mastered by Greg Calbi (Bon Iver, The National, The War on Drugs).
Young Man In A Hurry sprung from a friendship between songwriter and frontman Matt Baron and drummer Meyer Horn. The project evolved into a four-piece after inviting bassist Nick Harris and cellist Teddy Rankin-Parker to round out the group. With Teddy having moved to New York, this album features an alt-lineup including new guitarist David Taylor plys guest musicians David Vandervelde and Tselanie Townsend.
The album title Other People has varied meanings–it references how the band lineup is different from their first record, it’s an homage to all the support people in Baron’s life, and it’s a reclamation of the cliché “we should see other people” to underscore that people coming in and out of our lives can be abundant and forward-thinking instead of indicating a break-up. But its most striking meaning pertains to Baron’s voice. His typically sincere vocal sounds are affected by sonic treatments on every song, as if the narrator for each tune is an alternate version of himself. Written during a time of extreme emotional upheaval, Baron’s voice delivers cathartic emo-screams and stream-of-conscious narratives that, while wholly personal, express feelings and ideas that other people can hold up to the prism of their own experiences.
Baron decided to keep many first-take stream-of-conscious lyrics as the song’s final versions in the spirit of a Joan Didion quote his dad shared with him many years ago: “I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” Says Baron, “The approach to this record was spontaneous and vital for my soul given the upheaval happening in my life. Writing and singing these songs in an extemporaneous way wasn’t a novel premeditated choice. Making this record enabled me to stay in the day and get through the challenging trials and tribulations happening all around me.”
By writing and playing through the trenches, Baron has created a different version of himself as a frontman and songwriter. The dynamic songs bring hope and convey a transcendent concept of what other people can mean: people we love may leave a while or permanently. Either way, the universe can and often does provide exactly who and what we need if we show up to life and love back.
Today Glide is excited to offer a premiere of the band’s video for the standout track “In My Hands.” The group takes their thinking-man’s rock and roll down a notch on this tune, opting for a quieter, more ponderous sound that brings to mind indie and post-rock groups of the 90s. Baron’s straightforward vocal delivery allows the lyrics to connect in a more sincere fashion. The bridge of fuzzy guitar solos and drum build-ups gives the song a sense of swelling momentum that ultimately concludes with a psyched out group jam and shows how this talented back can quickly switch more sparse and quiet to big and dramatic rock.
Bandleader Matt Baron shares:
“I wrote this song in Beijing. I was staying in a building called the Cosmopolitan on the 40th floor. I strummed my guitar as I watched the breadth of activity and sheer volume of people below, and was overcome with joy experiencing my own anonymity, being alone in a place where no one knew me and I had no knowledge of the language.”
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