“5 Albums That Changed My Life” with Douglas Young (Love and Zombies)

Our inbox here at The New Fury is always overflowing with interesting bands and musicians trying to get our attention. One of the best ways to do that is by writing an awesome introductory email – that’s exactly what Douglas Young of Love and Zombies has done. It also helps that he’s got a new album out (“This Turned Out All Wrong”, released 5/6/14), and you can check out a single from the album titled “Suffer For The Art” right here.

Douglas gave us a few minutes of his time to mention 5 albums that have had, for whatever reason, a major impact on his life. Check out his selections after the jump. PS: Nine Inch Nails’ “Broken” EP is an absolute classic.

Doug Young
Love and Zombies
Five Albums That Changed My Life
Nada Surf – High/Low

Although High/Low is perhaps the very first CD I ever owned, that’s not the reason it changed my life. It came at time where I was in a similar place as singer/songwriter Matthew Caws. From the first tracks “Deeper Well” and “The Plan” there’s a youth nitro sparked which fizzles quickly like a sugar high into thoughtful, depressing, yearning for things we just can’t have; essentially like an emo kid without the whine or makeup, before anyone knew what the current incantation of an emo kid even was. That’s exactly what the album title suggests. Tracks like “Stalemate”, “Icebox,” and “Zen Brain” capture the mood of the record perfectly. For anyone who hasn’t had the sensation of a record that’s near perfect due to its imperfections, delivery, and context of the moment, let go of your ideas about what a record is supposed be, and throw on High/Low.

Jawbreaker – Dear You

“Sluttering (May 4th)” ends with the repeating line “If you hear this song a hundred times it still won’t be enough” and they were right. The cold imagery of the songs on Dear You are damn powerful. Somehow, Blake Schwarzenbach was able to communicate how it feels to be in the shoes of every high school kid across America who isn’t prom king or captain of the football team, without sounding immature or pretentious. From start to finish this record is dark; punk rock hiding in plain sight with a grunge veil. While lyrically it’s spot on in songs like “Chemistry,” “Oyster”, and “Accident Prone,” musically it rises to the occasion as well. The breakdown of “Basilica” is very Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins meets Jet Set era Sonic Youth. Seeing as Dear You has never left my playlist, I could go on about this record forever. But if I can say anything, it’s that after you connect with it, you’ll undoubtedly feel awful.

Nine Inch Nails – Broken

The moment I saw the performance of “Happiness in Slavery” live during Woodstock ’94 I was awestruck by Trent Reznor. The breakdown at the midway point was the hardest, most metal sound I’d ever heard, and interestingly enough it’s pulled off without any guitars. When he started screaming “Slavery” and proclaiming civil war on all the bands equipment, I was sold. Spawning the hit “Wish,” the EP though short, doesn’t let up save for a quick minute during “Help Me I’m In Hell,” and doesn’t disappoint. In addition to the intended duration, the bonus track presentation was ingenious on the cassette version because it was buried on the B-side with no mention of its existence. “Gave Up” and “Last” alone prove Broken is a self-aware zombie riot, hellbent on not only destroying itself but taking you with down it, and I for one am glad to go.

Filter – Short Bus

Filter may have initially erupted from Richard Patrick’s time in Nine Inch Nails, but Short Bus is a animal all its own. Songs like “Dose” and “Take Another” make you want to grit your teeth, and clench your fists until they hurt. It’s adrenaline building 101 pure and simple. As the initiation of the record feels angry and logical, the latter half of the record’s songs like “Consider This” make you feel like a psychotic serial killer, taking your time, savoring the moment; way too far gone to ever come back. The sometimes indefinable guitars riffs create a wall of sound that only fuels the rage we all have inside of us. Given breathers like “So Cool” and “Stuck in Here”, don’t kid yourself. This record makes you want rip out the walls and ruin someone.

That Dog – Retreat From The Sun

Failure, Jawbreaker, Veruca Salt, Nirvana; Too many bands go out with their best records. Such is the case with That Dog and their final album Retreat For The Sun. I’ll admit it, I crushed hard on singer Anna Waronker, but who wouldn’t after listening to the dreamy, indie, melodic opener “I’m Gonna See You” and the title track “Retreat From the Sun”? “Never Say Never” with its infectious keyboard riff, and “Being With You” with bipolar relationship discussion equipped clean power chords are perfect examples of what makes the album work so well. The girl next door vocals and lyrics that sneak under your skin on tracks like “Minneapolis” and “Long Island” aren’t all That dog has going for them. The simple yet intricate harmonies from the rest of the band both vocally and instrumentally is shear comfort without the jaded facade most wear after their properly introduced to reality. Unfortunately, their simple sound and that of counterpart Matt Sharp’s The Rentals were lost in the cloud of Weezer and Weezer sound alikes at the time. Though I hear they’re working on their new record, which kinda voids the entire intro to this piece. Dammit.