Let’s just get this out of the way: ‘Ones and Zeros’ is the best thing Young Guns have ever done. From the huge promise of their 2009 EP ‘Mirrors’ came debut album ‘All Our Kings Are Dead’, followed by ‘Bones’ (which spurned the huge hit of the same name) in 2012, and now here we are in 2015 with their third album ‘Ones and Zeros’. While everything they’ve done so far has been fantastic, they’ve undoubtedly come into their own with this one.
From the opening notes of the unspeakably catchy ‘Rising Up’, it’s clear that this is a different direction for Young Guns. It’s like there’s an added bounce in their step, and everything has just got a little more oomph to it. There’s definitely a poppier edge, but when I say ‘pop’ I mean something a lot cooler than your average song in the charts today. It’s got an almost 80s electronic edge to it all, and it’s completely and utterly glorious.
Every single track on this album has one thing in common: they all sound absolutely huge. And while several of the tracks that have been released already – ‘I Want Out’, ‘Speaking In Tongues’, ‘Daylight’ etc – prove that they work as fantastic standalone songs, there aren’t many greater feelings than listening to an incredible album as a full work of art.
The record ebbs and flows perfectly, from the melodic highs of tracks like ‘Momento Mori’ and ‘Colourblind (Win Or Lose)’ to the lilting lows of ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Gravity (Orbituary)’, and you couldn’t really ask for more. The tracks all work together, while also having enough variety to never get monotonous. As an album, it’s a complete pleasure to listen to, and it’s almost impossible to choose a standout track as they’re all pretty wonderful.
Ending on huge title track ‘Ones and Zeros’ pulls the album together: frontman Gustav Wood’s vocals really come into their own here, and the song builds into a huge climax before fading gloriously into outer space. It genuinely doesn’t get much better than this.
There’s pretty much no doubt that Young Guns will take over the world with ‘Ones and Zeros’. They’re already doing a good job of conquering America, and it’s no wonder. With such great talent, and such an unbelievable third album under their belt, there really will be no stopping them.
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