What Lies Beneath
Four Left Feet, 2025
9/10
This 4th album from Alan Young, i.e. Serious Child, brings a poetic quality to 12 diverse songs that welcome Chris Pepper, David Grubb, Annie Perry, Andy Ruddy and My Girl The River.
The harmonic singing of “Underland” opens with a warm, bare spirit, and “Stunt Double” follows with Young’s firm keys alongside playful beats and Perry’s flowing clarinet in the rich climate.
Halfway through, “Cancel Me” uses cozy acoustic guitar and Pepper’s skilled drumming that illuminates the sophisticated wordplay, while “Dusk On The 33” enlists Grubb’s mesmerizing strings that suit the rich album highlight.
Moving close to the end, “Charming” is a fuller moment that’s got plenty of melody surrounding the meticulous interaction, and “Book Ends” exits with a glowing intimacy that’s dreamy and heartfelt.
An album that thematically discusses seemingly minor day to day living, there’s an eloquence and ambitiousness to the effort that touches on folk-pop in enlightening ways.
Travels well with: Stumbleine- Deleted Scenes; Øyunn- I Know You Can Do It