SIX/TEN SPLIT Review: Although Damien Youth has been low on the radar, he’s been making British-influenced folk tunes since 1989. His ‘60s influenced style has remained the same over those 15 years and is often compared to the psychedelic folk-rock singer Donovan. Youth’s new
album is a strange sort of short stories allowing us a glimpse into his mind. On the first two songs of his new album, Phantoms of Fables, Youth makes references to mythological figures naming the goddess of wilderness, Artemis, on the first track and to Prometheus, the god who stole the lightening bolt from Zeus, on Hope. I Know Where Robyn Hitchcock Lives refers to a huge influence on Youth, the eccentric Robyn Hitchcock. This could be the highlight of the album as it picks up with upbeat guitar and bass lines. Youth’s natural British-sounding vocals should also be noted. Doll Child is a strange, eclectic song that explains an awkward mishap of the cheating man, “like Elvis is to heart attacks or black blind men are to blues, she is to nymphomania…also she reminds me of you.” Phantom Wheels has a very familiar sound with a driving piano line and a bold biblical reference to the holy martyrs who “died for you and me. But truth be known, it was us who killed them anyway.” Lies We Tell is a heartrending window into Youth’s life where he makes mention of his family and the longing for his legacy and philosophy to be “discovered someday.” Spy in My Tree echos Nick Cave—a dark, dramatic quick-moving song that ends with experimental saxophones. The album ends with Galaxies, the most experimental song, ending with layers of effects-processed vocals.

—Mikki Bullock